Personal Chaos
by FH14
Summary: Nyotalia AU. Anya never pictured her life turning out like this. In addition to working a stressful job, she has to deal with her college rival setting her sights on her awkward older brother while fighting off the advances of her creepy younger brother.
1. Chapter I

**Title:** Personal Chaos  
><strong>CharactersPairings:** One-sided Male!Belarus/Fem!Russia, One-sided Fem!Lithuania/Male!Belarus, Male!Ukraine/Various Females, Fem!America, Fem!Canada, Fem!Italy, Fem!Romano, Fem!France, Allusions to Other Characters  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Humor, Supernatural, Adventure, Mystery, Fantasy, Angst... Pretty much everything. I try not to get too dark though.  
><strong>RatingsWarnings:** M for swearing, sexual innuendo, one-sided incestuous urges, references to off-screen masturbation and off-screen smut.  
><strong>Summary: <strong>Anya never pictured her life turning out like this. In addition to working a stressful job, she has to deal with her college rival setting her sights on her awkward older brother while fighting off the advances of her creepy younger brother.

**Disclaimer:** Hetalia and Nyotalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya, though some of the characters don't have official genderbends yet.

**Notes: **There will be no smut in this fic. I can't stress enough that there will be references to it - oh, how there will be references to it - but there will not be any smut scenes in this story. The Genderbends haven't really gotten much development beyond that one comic in Volume 4 and a few pictures and notes on Himaruya's blog, so I take some creative licensing with the personalities. At the end of every chapter I'll include a note explaining any outside references I make just to cover all my bases, which is where I'll also indicate what I've named the characters that haven't been assigned human names by Himaruya (which for Nyotalia is basically all of them). If you see an inaccuracy please call me out on it; I hate being ill-informed. Reviews are encouraged and anonymous views are enabled.

And I apologize in advance for how choppy this chapter is.

* * *

><p><strong>Personal Chaos<br>**

**Chapter I**

Anya yawned, yanking her bag along on the ground behind her. While most work days were difficult for her, the worst was when her boss got into a frenzy about his department not moving at the same speed as the competition. _Bullshit_, Anya thought to herself, practically dragging her limbs, _If anything, we were moving faster. At this rate someone is going to drop dead._

After making her way through the security maze that was the entrance to her apartment complex, she stepped into the elevator and pressed the round "4" button as the doors closed. _Sleep,_ Anya groaned to herself, _Must sleep. No energy._

The door was locked, which meant that her older brother hadn't come home from work yet. Anya sighed and dug around in her purse for her key, her grogginess making it difficult to coordinate getting the key into the lock itself. When she finally got the door open, she found herself instantly alert – and annoyed – due to the sight she was greeted to.

Beer cans lay abandoned on the ground near the trash, while a pile of pots and sat in the sink. Anya easily made out the form of her younger brother sprawled out on the couch in only his boxers.

"Nikolai, wake up and clean up your shit!" Anya shouted, throwing her keys directly at his head.

Groaning, Nikolai peered out from behind the pillow he had face-planted on, and surveyed the damage, "I'll do it later."

"You always say that, but Dmitri or I are always the ones who end up actually cleaning it all up," Anya huffed, and proceeded to drag him off the couch and onto the floor.

"Ow! Fine!" Nikolai snapped, dragged himself to his feet, and stumbled over to the kitchen. Anya sighed, and allowed herself to relax just as Nikolai turned on the stereo.

"TURN IT OFF!" Anya yelled. Nikolai motioned at his ear and shrugged before walking over to pick up his beer cans.

Anya stomped over and yanked the chord of the stereo out of the wall. She turned to glare at Nikolai, who was staring at her calmly from the kitchen. Normally, Anya considered herself dignified in her normal demeanor, but any form of grace or positivity was instantly lost when dealing with her annoying brat of a brother.

"I told you to stop playing it that loud! We'll get written up for noise complaints!" Anya yelled. Nikolai stared at her blankly and Anya felt herself grow even tenser, "Damn it Nikolai! Why can't you just-"

Anya choked on her words as Nikolai walked up to her and stood much too close for comfort. The suddenness of his response and her rising fatigue from work - and subsequent outburst - kept her from moving, almost as if she was rooted to the spot.

Nikolai leaned over and Anya felt herself flinch when his bare chest brushed up against her as he leaned down. "You are so fucking hot when you're angry," he whispered in her ear, his warm breath sending a deathening chill up her spine.

Said chill was apparently the precursor for her adrenaline kicking in, and she used the opportunity to knee Nikolai right in the groin.

"Fuck!" Nikolai clutched the injured area and collapsed on the ground while Anya regained her composure.

"Cut out that sick shit and just clean up this mess," She said, eying him warily. Nikolai was about to reply, but he was interrupted when the door opened and a young man with similar features walked in carrying two large grocery bags.

"Hey you guys. I hope you're hungry! The guy at the Deli convinced me to get this huge sausage!"

"Isn't the one you've got in your pants enough, Dmitri?" Nikolai retorted, now recovered enough to sit up.

Dmitri's face flushed scarlet, a sight that Anya was all-too-familiar with, and Nikolai smirked. Their brother was well known for being rather _gifted_ downstairs… well, _cursed_ seemed to be the better word to describe it. Dmitri was never the subject of envy from Nikolai or any of their male friends simply because it was comical in size and no sane woman would dare be interested in hooking up with him. That, and he seemed to spend half his paycheck on buying new pants after accidentally splitting them open.

Between having been hit on by her younger brother and forced to picture her older brother's 'huge sausage,' Anya was not having the greatest afternoon. "Please tell me you bought more vodka," she groaned as he set down the bags.

Dmitri let out a hesitant smile before digging in the bag and taking out a large clear bottle. "You know I don't like you drinking, but after that I won't stand in your way as long as you let me have some."

"Deal," Anya said, grabbing the neck then taking a swig. In the corner of her eye, she noticed Nikolai slowly stand up and collect his iPod and a couple other electronics from the couch. Dmitri came back into the room after unloading the groceries and she handed him the bottle.

"Oh, by the way Nikolai, I got some more hand lotion and put it in the bathroom like you asked. Your hands must be really chapped man, I keep having to buy the largest size they have every week."

"Erm, yeah, dry hands," Nikolai replied blankly. He held up the camera and took a quick picture of Anya before she could block his view and rushed into the bathroom.

"You fucking pervert!" Anya yelled after him, hearing the bathroom lock click into place.

Dmitri handed back the bottle, sighing, "He is pretty strange isn't he? We really need to get him out of the apartment one of these days."

"You do it. As far as I know he doesn't want to jump your bones." _–__and get skewered. _Anya finished, cringing and taking an extra gulp for good measure.

"Slow down, you're not in college anymore," Dmitri huffed, grabbing the bottle out of her hands and pushing the cork back in. Anya glared, her eyes following him as he put the bottle on the shelf she couldn't reach, no matter how high a stool she stood on.

"The sink certainly looks like it did when I was in college," Anya deadpanned, once again staring at the mess Nikolai failed to clean up.

"That reminds me, I wanted to tell you something," Dmitri responded, looking more nervous than usual, "You remember that girl Amelia from your senior year?"

"You mean that burger-scarfing bitch? What about her?" Anya rubbed her temples, feeling a migraine coming on.

"Well, she's working at my office now," Dmirti blurted out, causing Anya to accidentally flick herself in the eye.

"Are you kidding me? Did she say anything to you?"

"Well…" Dmitri shrugged, glancing down. Anya kept her eyes trained on his face, knowing that if she looked down she's only be haunted by the sight of his crotch doing its best to escape from his khakis. "Let's just say Nikolai wasn't the only one today who…"

"Friendly as always I see," Anya said, now training her eyes on the cabinet where the vodka was hidden and re-evaluating whether it was really impossible for her to reach it.

"Yeah, pretty much," Dmitri mumbled, his face beet red.

"Anything else you want to dump on me before I go to bed?"

"Nope. That's it."

"Good." Anya said, heading towards the bathroom to get her Tylenol PM before remembering what Nikolai was doing in there. Nauseous, she stumbled into her room and collapsed on her bed, letting an uneasy sleep seize her entire body.

* * *

><p>As far as weird days go, Anya would reason later, that afternoon didn't even rank in the top ten. No, if there was anything her family could excel it, it was creating an uncomfortable atmosphere.<p>

She could have attitude with her brothers when she needed to, but the truth was that Anya wasn't particularly gung-ho when it came to confrontation. Even her own rivalries back in college were fairly subdued.

In fact, while growing up, it seemed like her brothers were the ones who were normally defending her.

"Yeah you better run!" Nikolai screamed, puffing out his little chest at the middle school girls as they helped their friend walk on her injured leg away from the scene.

"Don't make it sound like you hit her Niko," Anya gulped, trying to suppress the urge to cry, "She tripped when she was running away and skinned her knee."

"She deserved it though." Dmitri reasoned, standing a bit taller than his siblings. He was at the awkward age when he was just hitting his growth spurt, and the rest of his body seemed too small for its frame.

"Stop crying Anya, they're gone now okay?" Nikolai pouted.

Anya hadn't realized she had been crying. She had done her best to keep it bottled up, as it would've only encouraged the girls who had been harassing her. "Sorry Niko. Junior High school girls are like that though. I'm going to have to learn to be braver eventually."

"You shouldn't have to deal with that crap though," Dmitri mused.

"That's right!" Nikolai proclaimed, grabbing Anya's hand and putting on his most confident expression, "When I get bigger like Dmitri I'll protect you from all those girls and then I'll marry you so you'll never have to be alone again."

Anya snorted, and Dmitri patted Nikolai on the head, "I'll always be taller than you squirt. And you can't marry Anya, she's your sister."

The nine-year-old looked indignant, "Just because you're useless doesn't mean I should be," Dmitri feigned shock while Anya continued to try and keep herself from giggling, "You'll see! One day I'll be big and strong and everyone will fear me."

"Okay then, I'm sure you will be," Anya said, patting Nikolai on the head and smiling.

"Stop petting me. I'm not a baby," Nikolai whined, puffing out his cheeks.

* * *

><p>It had all seemed too innocent and easy back then, even though their parents were always off working. Most of the time, Dmitri would be scraping something together for his siblings, with Nikolai complaining that he could do a much better job. Anya would point out that he couldn't reach the stove, and her brother would glare and tell her to give him a boost, just before Dmitri would bring their food over and Nikolai would begin shoveling it down, all hostilities forgotten.<p>

Of course, all things must come to an end, and before Anya knew it she was growing up. She remembered how awkward it was when she had to go down to breakfast and ask Dmitri to go to the mall with her to buy training bras, as their mother was far too busy.

As high school finished up for the two of them, Dmitri had managed to fill out. While he was still as socially inept as he has always been, Anya found herself having to listen to her friends' wildly inappropriate fantasies about him. She remembered throwing a fit after one of them came into class one day barely able to walk after spending an evening out with him, and pretty soon it was a normal occurrence to see some girl hunched over in pain during one of their classes.

Anya couldn't figure out what was going on, but knew that somehow these girls were getting injured while with her brother, and had visions of Dmitri taking his dates out to do drugs or engage in some other kind of dangerous activity.

"What are you doing to those girls?" Anya had asked one morning, causing Dmitri to choke on his oatmeal.

"What- girls?" Dmitri sputtered.

"Don't play dumb with me," Anya said, crossing her arms, "Every time you go out with any of the girls our age they come into school the next day and they look like they're in pain."

"You dog," Nikolai smirked, nudging Dmitri, "I told you you'd hurt them with that thing, but they must be gluttons for punishment if they keep on coming."

"What? Are you hitting them?" Anya yelled as Dmitri turned read and looked down. Nikolai snickered and shook his head.

"He's hitting it in a different sense of the word," Nikolai cackled. Anya looked at him blankly and Nikolai eyed his sister with contempt, "Seriously, Anya?"

"Nikolai please," Dmitri choked, his face getting even redder.

"Oh sod off Dmitri. We share a bedroom. I've seen you enough to know it's true," Nikolai retorted, "You're having sex with them are you're too-"

"That's enough Nikolai!" Dmitri shouted, starting to look annoyed.

Anya felt her face turn as red as Dmitri's as the realization set in, "Oh, I see."

The rest of the meal was eaten in silence, and it became an unspoken rule never to speak about Dmitri's relations with girls.

Of course, that was nowhere near as awkward as what happened with Nikolai.

* * *

><p>At this point, Anya and Dmitri were off at college, and they were just returning home for the winter holidays. Anya's roommate and best friend, Kamilė, also had a family of workaholics, and found out a few weeks previously that they would be out of the country until New Year's on business. Anya had immediately invited her for the holidays, looking forward to having someone female to talk to besides her mother, who would likely be drunk on eggnog before everyone finished going through their Christmas stockings.<p>

At this point, Anya hadn't seen Nikolai in a year. When she and Dmitri had returned home for the summer, he had already gone away to work in another state for the season. Other means of communication weren't much use, as he found social networking sites like MySpace a waste of time and never answered his cell. Dmitri had gone to see him before heading off to his school in September, and he had told her over the phone later that Nikolai had changed a lot since that last Christmas.

Dmitri hadn't been lying. When Nikolai had answered the door it took a few second before Anya realized it was him. He had finished his growth spurt and was now about half a foot taller than her. His face, which had previously been expressive to a fault, now looked like a blank slate, and his eyes seemed to look right through her.

Shivering, Anya let out a friendly greeting and introduced Kamilė.

"It's nice to meet you," Kamilė said, reaching out her hand. The two girls were caught off-guard when Nikolai suddenly pulled Anya into a hug.

"I missed you," Nikolai mumbled, before letting go, waving to Kamilė, and disappearing inside.

"Your brother…" Kamilė said as they took off their jackets in the doorway.

"I'm sorry. He's a bit-"

"Adorable!" Kamilė gushed. Anya stared. "He's so cool and laid back but he's such a sweetheart. Do you know if he has a girlfriend?"

"What is wrong with you?" Anya said, too stunned to elaborate.

Kamilė was by no means the type of girl to start gushing over a guy, which is part of the reason Anya became friends with her. She wasn't the most attractive girl in the world, but she was smart, hard-working, and incredibly loyal.

Pretty much the opposite of Nikolai, as it turned out.

After her mother got drunk that evening, it came to light that the work Nikolai had been doing the previous summer was a disciplinary camp for troubled youth. Anya avoided eye-contact with everyone as she looked down at her potatoes, but Dmitri managed to keep more positive conversation alive with tales about his classes and school in general.

Of course, Kamilė was eying Nikolai throughout the entire meal, the revelations about him apparently only served to make the entire situation more enticing. When the meal was over, Anya got up quickly and left the room, heading towards the restroom.

Anya scrubbed her face and stared at herself in the mirror. She looked exhausted as always. _Damnit, you guys,_ Anya thought to herself, fuming at her family, _Why does every visit have to be so damn stressful?_

Anya heard a knock at the door, "I'm almost done!" She shouted, wrinkling her nose. Her mother had probably reached her limit and rushed to the bathroom to vomit.

To her surprise, she opened the door to see Nikolai standing outside the door, eyes downcast. "Hey Anya, are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine," Anya said nervously, not entirely sure how to act around her brother anymore.

"Are you sure?" Nikolai gulped, "I was afraid that after all the stuff mom was saying in there about me, you were-"

"Oh please," Anya interrupted, feigning confidence and rolling her eyes, "If I should be concerned about anything, it's that woman's drinking. We need to schedule an intervention or something."

"You mean, you don't hate me now?" Nikolai said, now facing his sister with big, hopeful eyes.

"Of course not!" Anya answered, now genuinely more relaxed and a bit surprised.

Nikolai looked relieved, "I'm so happy. You were always the only one who- and the idea that you might hate me was just-"

"You know I love you, you idiot." Anya said.

She quickly found herself wrapped up in an embrace, and Anya found herself unable to remember the last time she had hugged anyone, much less anyone in her family. It felt kinda nice, like they were a normal, loving family.

Unfortunately for her, that comforting feeling didn't last long.

Nikolai lifted his head and stared at her for split second before pulling her into a kiss. Anya was too stunned to move, and it quickly registered that this was by no stretch of the imagination an innocent kiss between family members.

The two broke apart, and Anya heard Nikolai whisper, "I love you too," before turning to go back into the kitchen to help their father clean up.

Anya looked up at the ceiling and groaned. _Shit._

She did her best to avoid Nikolai the rest of the trip, but found herself forced to interact with him regardless. Luckily, his behavior seemed pretty normal, at least normal for the new, tougher persona he seemed to have adapted. He also seemed completely oblivious to Kamilė, who was making every effort to flirt with him.

Every once in a while though, Anya would catch Nikolai staring at her a bit long before looking away, and knew she hadn't imagined what had happened. He seemed to respect her boundaries though, and didn't do anything like sneak into her room or steal any of her clothes or belongings (she checked) so she didn't press the issue, and hoped that if she ignored it, it would eventually go away.

Oh how naïve she had been.

* * *

><p><em>Thank god that's over<em>, Anya inwardly groaned. She waved to Nikolai and her parents as she and Kamilė boarded the train that would take them back to school.

"I hate that we promised Chun-Yan that we would help her with that on-campus festival," Kamilė whined as they took their seats, "I wanted to spend more time with your cute brother."

"Who are you and what have you done with Kamilė?" Anya snapped, eying her friend with a mixture of worry and contempt, "Seriously, I've never seen you act like this. Hell, _we make fun of_ girls that act like this."

"More like we make observations. We're pretty bad at coming up with insults," Kamilė responded, raising an eyebrow, "You're usually not this short-tempered either."

Anya sighed, "I know. My family seems to have that kind of effect. Hopefully the toxins will be out of our systems soon."

"_Toxins will be out of our systems_? Since when do you come up with lines like that?"

"Since when do you drool over boys?"

"Okay," Kamilė said, raising her hands in defeat, "We were both acting pretty out of character. Let's chalk it up to the awkwardness of being around your family."

"Awkward doesn't even begin to describe it."

"Enjoy the awkwardness while it lasts though," Kamilė said, digging around in her bag, "In a couple of years you'll hardly see your family."

"That's true," Anya reasoned, yawning and making herself comfortable in her seat.

Anya would later refer to that moment as when she had tempted fate.

* * *

><p>Stirring, Anya noticed the light in the hallway on and peeked out from the blanket. Someone must have come in and put a spare blanket on her after she had passed out.<p>

"Hey Nikolai, you were in the bathroom for quite a long time! Are you all right?" Anya heard Dmitri ask with no consideration for his sleeping sister.

_Well,_ She thought to herself, _at least now I know it must have been Dmitri that came in here._

"Yes, very good," Anya heard Nikolai yawn back, and could practically see the content, sleepy grin on his face, causing her to shiver a bit.

"Aren't you coming?" Anya heard a girl's voice say from what sounded like another room.

"I'll be right there! I'm just getting some protection!" Dmitri yelled back. Anya groaned and put the pillow over her head, wondering if she could smother herself to death.

"Oh goody, I'm sleeping on the couch… again," Anya heard Nikolai sneer, "I'm gonna go get my pillows off my bed, so you better be decent!"

"Don't come in yet!" Anya heard the girl shriek, and involuntarily laughed when she heard a thud that meant Nikolai had ignored her and gone in, and she probably threw something at him.

"Bitch," Anya heard Nikolai mumble on his way past her door and into the living room.

"Sorry about that!" Dmitri yelled to the girl as he bounded back to his room.

Anya thanked every deity ever worshiped by man when she felt herself grow sleepy once more. She was so tired, and was going to be up early tomorrow to appease her insane boss, which meant she needed all the sleep she could get.

She rolled over and glanced at the clock before passing out completely. Her final thoughts before entering her newest dream were, _it's already midnight?_

_Fuck my life._

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's Note:<strong> Thank you so much for reading this far! I'll try to get a new chapter up very soon, but my priority at the moment is my other fic, **World Academy W Occult Association**. (Be sure to check that one out!) And thank you to my lovely beta Icelilly.  
><em>

__Also for the names. Not all the characters have assigned names so I had to look up common names for each language or country or use popular fanon names. **Fem!Russia** is **Anya **Braginskaya****, **Male!Belarus** is **Nikolai **Braginskaya****, **Male!Ukraine** is **Dmitri **Braginskaya****, **Fem!Lithuania** is **Kamilė Laurinaitis**, **Fem!America** is **Amelia Jones**, and **Fem!China** is **Wang Chun-Yan**._  
><em>


	2. Chapter II

__**Author's Note:**_ _Sorry for taking so long to update this! I actually had this completed a week ago but I revised it a bunch of times before sending it to my lovely beta Icelilly, and then took the weekend to tweak it slightly more. I'll hopefully have more free time in the coming weeks and will be able to update more consistently.  
><em>_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter II<strong>_  
><em>

_Beep. Beep. Snap._

Anya felt her nose twitch, and after the sound repeated itself, she rolled over and opened her eyes.

Nikolai was standing over her, in his boxers, holding a camera.

"Get out of here you pervert!" She screamed, grabbing the cordless alarm clock and chucking it at his head.

"Ow!" He winced, nursing the side of his head as he backed away. He snapped another picture before running out the door. Anya collapsed onto the bed, thankful that she had fallen asleep fully clothed. This was the third time she had caught him in her room with a camera, though it was the first time the object she had thrown had made contact with his skull as intended.

Rolling over, she glanced at her reflection in the full-length mirror that hung on the back of her bedroom door. _Damn, I look like crap_, Anya thought, pulling herself up in a sitting position. She hadn't slept well – not that she had slept well in the past couple of months. It felt like living in such a cramped space with her siblings had really begun to take its toll.

_Maybe Dmitri will get a better job. Maybe Nikolai will be able to move back in with mom and dad. Maybe then I__'__ll be able to get a good night__'__s sleep_, she thought wistfully to herself before snorting and standing up. Those things were about as likely to happen as vodka raining from the sky.

She riffled through her closet to pick out another outfit, eying the pile of clothes on the bedroom floor and making a mental note to do laundry when she got home. Glancing out into the hall, she didn't see any signs of either brother, but could hear a familiar muffling sound coming from their room, indicating that Nikolai was in there having a disagreement with Dmitri about something.

Taking a chance, she sprinted down the hall towards the bathroom, nearly colliding with the girl coming out.

"Oh sorry, I didn't know you were in there," Anya apologized. The girl mumbled some sort of subdued response before moving out of the way to let her in. Once inside, Anya groaned in contempt when she realized that the brunette had left the bathroom a mess. There wasn't hair or toilet paper lying on the ground, but the toiletries were strewn around the counter, while the shower door was open and swinging with the bar of soap resting on top of the drain.

"That's just great," Anya muttered to herself, quickly doing her best to file everything back into its rightful place. After getting the room more-or-less organized again, she undressed and got into the shower, careful not to slip on the slick surface left by the bar of soap.

Though by the time she had gotten out, she had nearly slipped and broken her neck twice. Blow-drying her hair, she left the shower running for another minute in hopes that it would wash away whatever soap still lingered.

_I should__'__ve brushed by teeth first, _She griped, staring into the fogged up mirror while she scrubbed the inside of her mouth, hoping she got everything. By the time she got dressed, the shower was off and the mirror was no longer fogged, allowing her to inspect her teeth and quickly floss.

Checking herself over, she walked to the door, knowing full well what waited on the other side.

"Finally, you're done! Ouch, Nikolai get off."

"I called dibs!"

"But I have to work. You don't."

"I slept on the couch last night. My whole body is sore."

Anya sighed, instinctively ducking and narrowly avoiding being hit as her brothers began fighting their way to get through the door.

Walking into the kitchen, she saw the brunette easing her way onto one of the stools, wincing. Anya raised her eyebrows in surprise before heading towards the fridge. Normally Dmitri's flings didn't stick around for breakfast the next morning, choosing instead to shower and either head to work or straight home to apply ice to all affected areas.

Anya pulled a cup out of the cabinet, eying the brunette. The girl seemed more interested in reading the newspaper than talking, though she seemed to only be reading the print above the fold – both her hands too occupied with a Vulcan death grip on the counter to open up the paper to another page.

"Damnit!"

Anya heard a door slam and a loud knocking sound, "Dmitri open up! At least let me get my toothbrush! Come on!"

A moment later Nikolai stomped into the kitchen, his hair in disarray and a huge scowl on his face. Anya heard the brunette let out a meek yelp before looking away from Nikolai's state of undress. Rolling her eyes, Anya poured the orange juice into her glass and checked on the status of her toast. Nikolai lounged around in nothing but boxers so often that she had become pretty desensitized to it. So seeing him now was the equivalent of seeing potted plant – albeit a creeper potted plant that enjoyed having a bad attitude and taking pictures of her while she was sleeping.

"Do we have any carrots left?" Nikolai asked, shuffling through the fridge.

"If there aren't any in there, then no," Anya responded, grabbing the toast as it sprang up, "You should have asked Dmitri to buy some more when he went to the grocery store yesterday."

"I guess I can live without them for a few days," Nikolai shrugged, closing the fridge and reaching over to grab an apple, "Good morning, by the way," he said, leaning over and giving her a peck on the cheek.

"Knock it off," Anya hissed through clenched teeth. Nikolai merely grinned and took a bite of the apple. The brunette didn't seem to notice, as she was leaning back on her stool as if trying to find a more comfortable sitting position.

"So what's your name?" Anya said in a forced attempt to start conversation. The brunette looked up at her like she had just realized that Anya was standing across from her.

"Katarina."

"I'm Anya, nice to meet you," Anya smiled while Katarina looked at her warily.

"Nikolai," Her brother replied coolly, "So did you have fun last night?"

Anya choked on her juice and Katarina looked taken aback.

"What? You kicked me out of my room last night and threw a cell phone at my head. For all that you better have had a good time."

"I don't see how that's any of your business," Katarina sneered.

Nikolai shrugged and took a sip of juice, "Judging from the way you're sitting in that chair, I'm guessing-"

"Nikolai," Anya cut him off with a withering glare.

Katarina's face turned bright red and she looked back down at the front of the newspaper again, which she must have read a couple of times by now. After a few minutes of awkward silence – only broken by Nikolai's loud bites into the apple – Anya turned on the television and began watching the news.

"Oh good, the sensational pieces," Nikolai commented sarcastically, "because no one can live without knowing what stunt Snooki's pulled this week."

"Shut up," Anya replied lazily, though she silently agreed with him.

"The shower's all yours Nikolai!" Dmitri called, as he raced down the hall in just his towel, having forgotten to bring clothes with him into the bathroom in his race to best his brother.

"'kay!" Nikolai hollered back, tossing the apple core into the garbage before wandering towards the bathroom.

"Nikolai, please get dressed today! And Dmitri don't leave your towel on the floor of your bedroom again it'll get mildew-y!" Anya yelled, buttering the toast she had left cooling on the counter.

A few minutes later, Dmitri came stumbling into the kitchen, messing with his tie. "Damn it. Anya? Could you help me with-" Dmitri paused, noticing Katarina eying him from the counter, "Oh, hello, I didn't know you were still here."

"Why wouldn't I be?" Katarina snapped, "I'm not some cheap floozy you know! I don't just sneak out the morning after!"

"I- I didn't mean it that way," Dmitri stammered. He sent Anya a pleading look, but she just shrugged and sipped her juice.

"I hope so," Katarina glared at him as he made his way to the fridge.

"Oh Dmitri, next time you're at the store, Nikolai wants some more carrots."

"He should get them himself then," Dmitri replied, "He has money. And he can take on some responsibility around here. We aren't his parents."

"You try getting him to leave the house."

"Okay, I will."

"Oh really, well- Dmitri I told you not to do that!"

Dmitri paused, the opening of the milk carton up to his lips, "Hey, I'm the only one here who drinks it. Besides, they say milk helps you grow big and strong."

"Then you should probably drink coffee to stunt your growth," Katarina muttered, causing Dmitri to choke on his first gulp.

Anya forced a polite smile, "So… Katarina was it? What do you do for a living?"

"I'm a waitress," Katarina responded, "But I have the afternoon shift today, if you were hoping that would get rid of me."

"Oh I didn't mean that," Anya lied, "Though Dmitri and I will be headed off to work soon so if you stick around you'll be alone with our brother."

"Oh, I figured Dmitri was headed to work, but I figured you were staying here," Katarina replied lazily, "I wouldn't leave the house in that outfit unless… oh, are you a telemarketer?"

"No," Anya snapped, turning to Dmitri, "I believe its time you escorted this girl home, don't you agree?"

"Um, yeah, sure," Dmitri replied, not looking pleased at the idea of being trapped in a car with Katarina.

"Oh, I don't need an escort, I can-" Katarina stood up and instantly began clutching her stomach, "God damnit."

"What's wrong?" Anya asked, all trace of concern gone from her voice.

"I should've known it was a bad idea to try that. Damn it. I thought I got my period early but the way this hurts-" Katarina winced.

"Oh, I, um," Dmitri said, looking around frantically, "Do you want to lie down or-?"

"No, I just need to walk it off. That's all." Katrina took a small step forward before doubling over in pain again.

"Oh god. Do you want me to call someone?" Dmitri asked, becoming alarmed.

"No. I think you should take me to the hospital."

"The hospital..?"

"Yes, the hospital. I'm not dying but this definitely calls for prescription strength painkillers. Ah, and soon would be good."

"Yes, right away," Dmitri stammered, groping frantically for his keys, "Anya could you call my work and tell them I'll be coming in late today."

"Sure, why not," Anya replied, trying to absorb the scene unfolding in front of her.

By the time Dmitri found his keys, Katarina was back on the stool and gripping the counter again. Staring at her awkwardly for a moment, he eventually reached to pick her up, and she screamed at him for not being careful enough.

"Well, that was… interesting," Anya remarked as the door closed behind them.

"Damn, did I miss the fireworks?"

Anya turned around to see Nikolai leaning against the bathroom door with his towel wrapped around his waist, nodding at the doorway. "All I heard was 'You did this to me you bastard' and 'You better pay for it.' He didn't get her pregnant did he?"

"No, thank god. She was shrill," Anya answered, "Apparently they did something last night and now she's in excruciating pain."

"Well yeah, she had sex with Dmitri. None of the other girls had to go to the hospital though. I wonder-"

"I'd rather not analyze my brother's sex life, thank you very much," Anya cringed, "I don't know what they did and I don't care to know."

Nikolai shrugged, "It's not like anyone else around here has a romantic or sex life to speak of."

"You don't- you don't know that," Anya felt her face turn red, "I see plenty of guys."

"Oh really? Because in the entire time I've been here I've never seen you out on a date, and yout boss doesn't seem like the kind of guy to give you a long lunch break. So unless you're having sex with Dmitri I don't see how that's possible."

"Don't be vulgar," Anya snapped, "and go get dressed. I have to make a phone call."

"Whatever. I totally won that argument though," Nikolai waved as he headed towards his room.

"Yeah, okay. I haven't been on a date in a while. I admit it. You happy?"

Nikolai paused, "Not really," he said quietly before opening the door and heading inside, his shoulders slightly slumped. The answer was ambiguous enough that Anya didn't bother getting creeped out and instead dialed the number Dmitri had left on the side of the fridge in case of an emergency.

"Hello, you have reached the front desk of BLOC Enterprises. How may I direct your call."

"I would like to speak to the supervisor for Dmitri Braginskaya. This is his sister," Anya answered, mentally kicking herself for not remembering the man's name.

"Oh, Anya, is that you?"

The calm robotic voice became more animated and Anya felt her stomach sink like a stone. She had hoped never to hear that voice again.

"Amelia?"

"Sharp as always I see. It's been so long. You didn't attend the last sorority reunion."

"Yeah, sorry, I was busy with work at the time," Anya rolled her eyes, remembering how they had scheduled a two year reunion. According to the sisters, every milestone counted, even one so insignificant.

"That's too bad. The planning committee had set up a sky-diving event for us. Oh, I had begged them not to do an activity that I would be so much better at than the others, but they insisted on making it exciting, so who was I to say no? I totally owned everyone there."

"Yes, that is too bad," Anya replied, wondering what she had done to make the universe hate her so much this morning, "I do need to speak to my brother's supervisor though."

"Oh, what happened? I hope he's not sick. He's a lot of fun to have around!"

Anya could practically hear the other girl salivate on the other end of the phone and silently wretched. She was tempted to tell her about Katarina to freak her out, but realized that probably wouldn't bode well for Dmitri if word of the incident spread around the office.

"No, he's fine. A minor family emergency came up and he'll be in later today."

"Oh I see. His supervisor isn't in yet but I'll be sure to pass on the message. And Anya-?"

"Yes Amelia?"

"We gotta have lunch! It's been way too long and I have so much stuff to tell you!"

"Yes we should, that would be lovely, I'll call you. I have to get to work now, you have a good day."

Anya exhaled and hung up before Amelia could respond. Amelia was apparently down to earth and nice according to other people Anya had talked to, but when she talked to her the girl always seemed very aloof. Neither of them had ever gotten along and their relationship seemed to devolve into a type of catty politeness that Anya despised taking part in.

"Why do I have to deal with this crap so early in the morning," Anya groaned, rubbing her temples, "I gotta get out of this funk."

"God, I'm sorry! You still haven't gotten over what I said?" Anya looked up to see Nikolai walk past her, opening the fridge again and eying it warily. For once he has listened to her, and was dressed in an old T-shirt and khaki shorts.

"I stopped caring about anything you have to say a while ago. Guess who I just got off the phone with?"

"From the angry and unsatisfied look on your face, I'm guessing he wouldn't sell you the drugs on credit?"

"Ha ha," Anya stood up and put her empty glass in the sink, "Did I ever tell you about a girl named Amelia Jones?"

"No. But I think your friend Camila, or whatever her name is, said something about a water balloon standoff?"

"It's Kamilė. And yeah, I know what you're talking about," Anya sat down again and sighed, "We had been in the same sorority for two years, but never talked to each other because she was a year younger and we didn't have the same friends there. At the beginning of my senior year, we finally did interact, and it didn't turn out well. I don't remember the exact details, but we left that first meeting with a lot of hostility."

"Hostility? Go on…"

"Oh shut up. Anyway, about a month later, some of the other girls began this water balloon fight. I was asked to join and it looked like fun, but then Amelia got invited to play too."

"And you threw ten at her! I hope you got her in the face."

"No. Stop interrupting. Anyway, Amelia got a little too into it, and began hoarding the water balloons so she could 'launch a full scale assault.' Well, we only had so many water balloons left, so I suggested that we hold onto the ones we had for the time being as well. Pretty soon, it turned into this huge standoff and all the sisters were on edge, wondering which side would be the first one to launch the attack and drench the entire house."

"So what ended up happening?"

"Nothing, as it turns out. I graduated that year while she stayed for her senior year. I haven't seen her since. But the water balloon thing kinda served as a backdrop to a whole bunch of other things that happened," Anya frowned, "Basically, I'd rather pull out all my teeth with pliers than go to lunch with her."

"She invited you to lunch? That's strange," Nikolai observed, grabbing the orange juice.

"I think she enjoyed the thrill of the battle or something, I can't even begin to figure out how her mind works. Not to mention- GODDAMNIT NIKOLAI I DRINK THAT JUICE TOO!"

"So?" Nikolai glanced at her, before continuing to drink from the bottle.

"I give up," Anya drummed her head against the counter, "I should just start buying food for myself and hiding it in my room. Then the two of you can be as unsanitary as you want with whatever's in here."

Nikolai opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by a knock at the door. Before Anya could sit up, he was already walking over to answer it.

"Hey Anya I- _Nikolai_! It's great to see you! I-"

Nikolai slammed the door in Kamilė's face and turned to his sister, "Cammo's here."

"You don't have to be so rude."

"I can't help it. Every time I see her it's like she's undressing me with her eyes," Nikolai faceplanted on the couch, "It's creepy."

Anya stopped at stared pointedly at him, "Let those who are not creepy perverts cast the first stone."

Nikolai muttered something inaudible into the couch cushion and Anya turned around to answer the door.

"Oh Anya, I guess Nikolai didn't recognize me. We haven't seen each other in a while-"

"Yeah, I'm sure that's it," Anya replied meekly. The prospect of leaving the apartment seemed to begin easing the tension out of her.

Kamilė peered around her, "Do you think I could-?"

"No. Sorry. If we don't leave now we're going to be late."

"Oh, okay," Kamilė glanced at Nikolai before Anya rushed out the door and quickly locked it.

"I don't get why you lock the door. Nikolai's there isn't he?"

"Nikolai's a masochist who enjoys the occasional - and random - alone time with hard liquor. Believe me, it's just as much about keeping him inside the house as it is about keeping people out."

Kamilė tilted her head when they reached the bottom of the stairs, "But couldn't he just unlock it from the inside? And don't you and Dmitri want him _out_ of the house?"

"I want him out of the house, but not after he's been drinking. His personality is already grating, but once he gets alcohol into his system he just gets sadistic," Anya glanced at her watch and quickened her pace, spotting her car in its normal spot, "And he's not good with complicated things like locks then either."

"I guess that makes sense," Kamilė acknowledged. A moment later, she slid into the passenger seat, "But wait, doesn't Dmitri leave later than you? Why wasn't he here?"

"You're asking way too many questions for this early in the morning," Anya shook her head and turned on the ignition, "You can quiz me all you want when we get to work, but right now I would really love some peace and quiet."

She could feel the tension leave her body as she pulled out of the parking space. For a few hours anyway, she could stop being on high alert and drop this angry and defensive personality that seemed to surface whenever her brothers were around.

Kamilė looked up at her, noting the change in atmosphere, "Hey, you want to grab some lunch today at that new place down the street from work?"

"Um," Anya said quietly, "Maybe tomorrow. I have to make sure I get everything done today." Sighing, she allowed herself a small smile.

"Okay, sure," Kamilė chuckled nervously to herself, "Welcome back, regular Anya, you have been missed."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Thanks for reading this far! Feedback is appreciated, even negative feedback!_

_BLOC was a reference to the "Eastern Bloc" countries. Though the name doesn't actually have any significance and I just wanted something to call that workplace - hence why Amelia works there despite America not being an Eastern Bloc country._ __Not all the characters have assigned names so I had to look up common names for each language or country or use popular fanon names. The only new one introduc_ed in this chapter is **Fem!Romano**, who goes by **Katarina Vargas**._


	3. Chapter III

_**Author's Note:** So much for the free time last semester and updating this consistently. I actually do have a lot of free time at school and have gotten a lot of other writing done so far, so hopefully I actually will be able to post more chapters soon. Thank you to my beta, Icelilly, for putting up with my erratic updates._

_Possible Trigger Warning for allusions to Suicide._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter III<strong>

"Do you want to go put that in your car? It'll be awkward carrying it around all day."

"It's fine." Anya replied cheerfully. She readjusted the strap of her purse and clutched the shopping bag in her arms tighter against her chest.

Anya was determined to enjoy herself. While yesterday had been a major headache, today had not been spoiled by Nikolai's antics or one of Dmitri's infrequent one night stands. In fact, her boss had even toned down his rhetoric and the work day had been more enjoyable than it had been in a while.

"I hope this place isn't too expensive," Anya wondered aloud as she and Kamilė neared the entryway.

"It didn't seem too bad when I looked at the menu online." Kamilė frowned, "It is a French restaurant though. A good one too apparently, so it isn't exactly cheap either."

"Maybe I should have held off on buying these then." Anya sighed, stopping to look inside her shopping bag. A small shop near their workplace sold scented candles that smelled like sunflowers in full bloom – a scent that Anya found extremely captivating.

In college she had often dreamed about moving south after graduation. The warm weather and distance from her parents made the idea extremely appealing, especially during her struggles to get to class after a heavy snowfall. But that dream was dashed quickly upon entering the real world. Her finances were in such chaos that she was forced to move in with Dmitri and sign a lease on an apartment. It wasn't exactly where she had imagined her life going.

Still, whenever she went to bed she often dreamt of a sunny field filled with sunflowers. After a long, stressful day, she could usually count on one of her sunflower scented candles to help herself relax.

_If only I had one yesterday_, Anya mused, as Kamilė talked to the maître d'. Glancing around the restaurant, she noticed that the décor didn't really fit with what she had imagined as a French restaurant. The front room had the expected, traditionally decorated tables with centerpieces and candlelight. But towards the back, Anya saw part of an ornately decorated bar.

"This way, Mademoiselles," The maître d' said, interrupting Anya's thoughts. However, before they could reach their table, Anya heard a familiar voice call out.

"Anya Braginskaya is that you?"

_Fuck. _Anya put on a false smile as a girl with blonde hair styled somewhere between a bob and complete dishevelment appeared from the back. Her outfit suggested that she had come straight from work.

"Amelia, it's been ages!" Anya responded, mentally cringing at the cliché.

"Oh good, this game again," Anya heard Kamilė mutter, before she put on a fake smile to greet Amelia as well.

"Amelia, who's there?"

Anya did a double-take when Dmitri poked his head out from behind the wall separating the tables from the bar. He looked surprised as well, but his expression was quickly placed with one of relief.

"You didn't tell me you were having a meeting here Dmitri."

"We're not," Amelia answered, her cheery façade cracking a little, "We decided to have lunch together to catch up."

"Didn't you guys only meet once at a Sorority mixer?" Kamilė asked.

"Yes, but we had a very stimulating conversation," Amelia swooned, "Dmitri was just a fountain of information when it came to Eastern European history, and I was a history major at the time and I still dabble in it."

"I see…" Anya replied, raising an eyebrow at Dmitri, who grinned sheepishly.

"Well I hope you two enjoy your lunch-" Amelia began.

"Why don't the two of you join us?" Dmitri invited, sending Anya a pleading glance. "That way, we can all catch up on what's happened since college."

"What a great idea!" Amelia responded, her face betraying signs of annoyance, "You guys should hear about all the awesome stuff I've been doing!"

Behind Amelia, Anya could see Dmitri doing his best impression of a scared puppy. "That sounds lovely," Anya sighed, feeling a migraine coming on.

Entering the bar area, Anya realized that the area also held seating. Large, crescent shaped booths liked the wall separating the bar from the dining room, and the bar itself ran several yards across the entire span of the building. It wasn't exactly what Anya had pictured when she envisioned a French restaurant, though she did find it aesthetically pleasing.

The area itself had relatively few patrons, as most seemed to sit in the main dining room (and Anya suspected that the restaurant did most of its business during dinner hours). The quartet fit comfortably into a booth, with the maître d' setting up an additional two place settings.

Anya and Kamilė slid in on the left while Amelia sat on the right – Dmitri acting as a buffer between the two parties.

"Do you need somewhere to put that Anya?" Dmitri asked. Anya looked down, and realized she was still holding the bag with the scented candles in them close to her chest.

"Sorry, I'll just put them under my chair," Anya replied, leaning down and stuffing the bag awkwardly into her purse.

"So Kamilė," Anya heard Amelia say, "Are you seeing anyone?"

"Not right now," Kamilė replied, fidgeting uncomfortably, "There's a guy I'm interested in, but that's on the backburner right now…"

"Oh really?" Anya sat up in time to see Amelia raise an eyebrow. "What's his name?"

"It's… not important," Kamilė's face flushed.

"Well whoever he is, you should go for it," Amelia said, glancing down at her menu, "Opportunities are fleeting, so you should take advantage of them while you can."

"I suppose," Kamilė frowned, looking at her menu as well.

"What about you Anya?" Amelia asked, "Anyone out there you have your eye on?"

"Well-" Anya started, before an angry voice rang out.

"Dmitri Braginskaya, you bastard!"

The group jumped, as a confident-looking woman dressed as a waitress raced towards the table.

"I'm sorry, I don't-" Dmitri began.

"You put my sister in the hospital the other day!" The waitress crossed her arms and gave him a measured look, as if challenging him to refute her claim, "I don't know what you do in bed buddy, but you seriously need to reevaluate yourself!"

Kamilė and Amelia stared at Dmitri, dumbstruck, while he nervously looked around as if seeking help. It took every ounce of willpower to keep Anya from bursting into laughter on the spot.

"Well, um, I…"

"What do you guys want to drink?"

"I don't-?"

"We'll just have water, thanks," Anya managed to choke out. The waitress nodded, before heading back behind the bar. A moment later, the maître d' poked his head in and asked the waitress, whose name turned out to be Alice Vargas, to stop harassing the customers.

"Got it Ranier," Alice waved dismissively. Ranier frowned, before returning to his post.

"So… you and her sister..?" Kamilė asked nervously.

"Please. Don't ask," Dmitri shuddered.

"You put her in the hospital?" Amelia whispered, looking at Dmitri in shock.

"It's not what you think," Dmitri murmured, his face turning an even darker red.

"Well you're going to have to spell it out for me," Amelia crossed her arms.

Dmitri hung his head before weakly beckoning her closer and whispering something in her ear. Amelia's jaw dropped, her eyes growing wide, and Anya had to focus on something boring in order to keep herself from descending into hysterical laughter.

"Here are your drinks," Alice interrupted, grabbing the glasses of ice water off the tray and placing them down on the table. "Are you guys ready to order?"

"Could you give us a few more minutes?" Anya smiled.

Alice looked a bit surprised before nodding, "Sure. I'll be back in a few minutes to check on you."

"She's probably shocked we haven't bolted," Kamilė remarked once Alice was out of earshot. She appeared to have recovered from earlier, though Amelia still looked a little thrown.

"So Amelia," Anya smiled, "Are you seeing anyone?"

Amelia just stared at her.

* * *

><p>The rest of the meal went smoother than Anya expected. Alice didn't make any further remarks towards Dmitri and, despite her initial rudeness, she appeared apt at her job.<p>

_She probably got it out of her system,_ Amelia mused, watching the busboy collect their plates. Kamilė had opted to take home a doggy bag, while the rest of the group had easily finished everything on their plate.

Amelia recovered halfway through and appeared as animated as ever, though Anya thought she may have been overcompensating from her earlier shock. She did however, pick up on some subtle flirting directed at Dmitri, who seemed oblivious and still seemed ashamed when Alice came back to the table to ask how everything was.

"It was great, thank you!" Dmitri proclaimed.

Alice smirked, "Will you be having dessert this afternoon, or..?"

"We need to get back to work," Anya replied, checking her phone, "Our lunch hour is almost up."

"You have an hour lunch break?" Amelia frowned, "I was under the impression you guys worked retail. How'd you manage to swing that?"

"Our boss offers a longer lunch once a month on the day of our choosing. One of the few policies he's implemented that I actually like," Kamilė answered, finishing up her drink and grabbing her food as the busboy brought it by.

"Well, our lunch break is almost over too, so we should be off," Dmitri proclaimed, standing up.

"I'll bring you your bill," Alice interrupted, dashing behind the bar to the electronic cash register.

"We should do this again sometime." Amelia grinned, "Its always fun learning new things about old friends."

"That sounds great!" Anya answered, a small piece of her soul dying.

By the time Alice came back with the bill, Amelia had everyone exchanging contact information. The entire time she focused all her attention onto Dmitri, and Anya prayed that Dmitri wouldn't bring her home for a nightcap.

* * *

><p>As it turns out Anya didn't have anything to worry about. Upon returning to work, she got a text from Dmitri thanking her for showing up when she did. When she pulled into her parking spot near the apartment complex after finishing her shift, Dmitri was already there waiting for her.<p>

"So what the hell were you doing this afternoon?" Anya demanded, slamming the car door.

"It all happened so fast. I was heading out to grab lunch at the Deli across the street and the next thing I know, I'm agreeing to go to lunch with her at that fancy French restaurant."

"What? You're seriously saying that she hypnotized you and made you go with her?"

"Well, no," Dmitri admitted, "But I was just taken off-guard. Luckily I somehow convinced her to sit at a booth in the back. If we were seated at one of those fancy tables in the main room I don't even know…"

"The back room proved eventful enough," Anya giggled, "As much I loathe the idea of breaking bread with Amelia Jones, that had to be one of the most entertaining meals I've ever had."

"I'm glad you found fun in my misery," Dmitri sighed, "She was waiting for me when I was leaving work today."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah. I told her that you were having violent diarrhea from the lunch you had today and I needed to care for you, and that seemed to put her off."

"What?" Anya punched Dmitri hard in the arm. "You just gave her huge ammunition against me! Why didn't you just tell the truth – that you're not interested?"

"That's rich coming from you," Dmitri spat, "Was a single word that came out of your mouth today genuine?"

"Well…my lunch hour really was almost up," Anya shrugged.

"Thought so," Dmitri swung his bag over his shoulder and shifted through his keys to unlock the door. "Ten bucks says that Nikolai is passed out half-naked on the couch."

"I'd be an idiot to take that bet," Anya answered.

Sure enough, Nikolai was sprawled out on the couch in his underwear, the remnants of a takeout bag strewn about on the ground. The music was blasting, and Anya immediately rushed to unplug all his electronics.

"What are we going to do with him?" Dmitri sighed, "He spends all day sitting on his ass. He either needs to get a job or start going to school."

"Well, good luck convincing him," Anya clasped her hand on his shoulder before walking towards her room.

"Why do I have to do it?"

"I dealt with his shit yesterday. It's your turn," Anya waved, slamming her bedroom door. A moment later, she could hear muffled shouting as her brothers began arguing.

* * *

><p>After a brief, restless nap, Anya was woken by a loud pounding at her bedroom door. Rolling over, she discovered that it was only 9:00, and swore to herself, wishing that her brothers had let her sleep through until the next morning.<p>

"What is it?" Anya snarled as she opened the door.

"I'm sorry, I'll come back later," Kamilė backed away, alarmed.

"Kamilė?" Anya blinked in surprise, steeping out of the doorway, "What are you doing here?"

"Dmitri let me in. I wanted to talk to you about something that came up at lunch today."

"As much as I found that situation hilarious, I don't think I'm comfortable even contemplating my brother's sex life-"

Kamilė shook her head, "I don't mean that. It mean when Amelia asked about my love life."

"She's a really nosy one isn't she?" Anya closed the door, leading Kamilė out into the living room. Dmitri was in the kitchen heating something up in the microwave and Nikolai was nowhere to be seen.

"Could we have some privacy?" Anya asked.

"Yeah yeah," Dmitri waved his hand dismissively as he got his food.

Once Dmitri was out of earshot, Anya reiterated her question. "So what's on your mind?"

"Promise you won't tell him?"

"Oh god, you still have a crush on Nikolai don't you?" Anya groaned.

"Was it that obvious?"

"Aliens that don't even know of our existence wake up from fever dreams screaming 'Kamilė likes Nikolai!' as if it were embedded in their genetic code."

"Ha ha," Kamilė rolled her eyes, "I knew I should've talked to you at work. You're much less snarky when you're away from your family."

"I should hope so, or I'm getting fired tomorrow."

"But anyway," Kamilė sighed, "First thing I want to know – is he seeing anyone?"

"He doesn't leave the apartment and he hates social media, so probably not."

"Okay… does he ever talk about me?"

"Honestly… he still gets your name wrong."

"Are you serious?" Kamilė hung her head, "But we've known each other for years!"

"I blame the vodka. He takes after our mother in that area."

"Oh please, you and Dmitri are borderline alcoholics but you still manage to remember my name."

"I guess that's true," Anya laughed nervously, "But Kamilė, I think you'd be better off setting your sights on someone else. Nikolai isn't exactly dating material."

"I know I shouldn't be interested. He's unemployed, blunt, drinks a lot, slams doors in my face, and doesn't even remember my name. And yet, I can't help but feel drawn to him."

"That's… troubling," Anya frowned.

"No kidding. But I have to know – do you think he likes anyone?"

Anya involuntarily shuddered, remembering just the other day when he had been taking pictures of her sleeping. "No, he doesn't, and that's probably for the best."

"Are you guys done in there?" Dmitri shouted, "I want to take a shower."

"Unless you're planning on showering in the kitchen, there's nothing stopping you!" Anya shouted back.

"But you're talking about me," Dmitri poked his head out of his bedroom, eying the pair suspiciously, "I know you're talking about me. I can feel it."

"Yeah, that's right, we're talking about you," Anya replied sarcastically. "You and all the horrible sexual diseases that Amelia will probably give you when she becomes your live-in girlfriend."

"Lalalala I'm not listening," Dmitri hummed, plugging his ears with his fingers.

* * *

><p>The rest of the night was just as restless for Anya, who was woken up every hour when Dmitri or Nikolai stomped past her room to go to the bathroom. Not even her scented candles seemed to do the trick, and instead she was inundated with a series of strange dreams, each one more disturbing than the last.<p>

_In the first dream, Amelia had moved into the apartment and had Dmitri trained like a dog. Literally. He worse a dog collar that said "property of Amelia Jones and went to fetch the paper in his teeth._

_"That's a good boy Fido," Amelia swoomed, scratching the rash forming all over his face, "Later we'll go to the doctor and clear up that nasty infection. I really should get an STI screening one of these days, huh?"_

_"Yup yup," Dmitri responded, shortly before being devoured by the sofa._

The dream ended when Anya went in her bedroom to find Amelia burning all her stuff. Swearing quietly at the ceiling above, Anya turned over and attempted to get some sleep.

_The next dream was even worse. She was part of a polygamy cult, and Nikolai tells her that she has been assigned to be his third wife. Arriving at his house, Kamilė and Amelia are doing housework in the kitchen._

_"Why the hell am I here? I should be off having adventures!" Amelia shattered a dish on the floor and turned to Nikolai, fire in her eyes._

_"We can't have this type of behavior missy," Nikolai replied in an antiquated southern drawl, stroking the beard that had sprouted from his chin moments before, "As punishment, you'll need to battle your sister wives using mixed martial arts."_

_"I'm the most powerful sister wife!" Kamilė proclaimed gleefully, before pulling a broad sword out of her pants and decapitating the other two women._

Anya woke with a start after hearing the bathroom door slam. She made a mental note to kick her brother's ass in the morning before dozing off once more.

_In the last dream, she was at the restaurant from that afternoon. Alice and Katarina were there, dressed up in slutty versions of their work uniforms and straddling each other on top of the bar. Alice was nibbling on Katarina's neck as the later asked Anya what she wanted to eat._

_"I don't know. You haven't given me a menu yet," Anya replied, annoyed. In front of her, a replenishing bottle of vodka was pouring the clear liquid into a tall glass with a tropical-looking mixer._

_"Anya, there you are!"_

_Anya looked up to see Kamilė rushing towards her, "What is it Kamilė? I'm kind of busy here!"_

_"You haven't been to work in two weeks! All you do is hop from bar to bar with your magic vodka and drink them out of business."_

_"Out of business?" Katarina moaned as her sister began unbuttoning her blouse with her teeth, "That's not good. I need my paychecks."_

_Kamilė raised an eyebrow, "I didn't know you were into that."_

_"I think it's the magic vodka," Anya sighed, as the bottle flew up to the ceiling, tantalizingly out of reach, "We had some drinks when you were at the house earlier, when we were talking about how you want to date my brother."_

_"But I can't be tamed," Dmitri appeared, wearing a farm boy outfit, "There are so many women I still haven't slept with."_

_"I don't need that in my brain!" Anya waved her hand, and Dmitri vanished in a puff of smoke. Alice had begun unbuttoning her shirt, revealing a distinctly male physique._

_"Okay then" Anya tilted her head._

_"It's just your brain projecting your anxieties onto other people," Kamilė explained._

_"Is that sound sort of psychological analysis?"_

_"How the hell should I know. You never took a Psychology class and I'm just a figment of your imagination."_

_"So I want a sister so she can have a sex change and I can do her?" Anya frowned, "If that's what's in the depths of my brain I vote we leave it there, nice and hidden."_

_"Not quite," A voice whispered in her ear, and Anya felt hands running up the side of her body. Anya turned, before Nikolai captures her in a heated kiss. Shocked, Anya pulled away, "Not even in this plane of existence."_

_"But Kamilė just said-"_

_"Dream Katarina just ran Dream Alice through the chest with a jousting stick," Kamilė pointed out. Sure enough, Alice was lying dead on the ground, and Katarina had opened the register and was stuffing cash into her bra._

_"Yeah, I'm pretty sure this is just the unhealthy combination of anxiety and a growing alcohol dependency," Anya mused, before the bar caught fire._

_"So there's no chance-"_

_"Not at all," Anya interrupted, "I guess maybe I should make that clearer in real life too. Maybe then you'll be able to move on. Otherwise the situation will just get worse."_

_"It's not going to be that simple," Nikolai replied, his face grim, before disappearing in a similar puff of smoke._

_Anya sighed and turned to look for her magic vodka, but it had flown over away from her table and was raining down onto something at the other end of the bar._

_"Damn it," Anya swore, standing up and heading over to see what was happening now. She stopped short, recognizing Nikolai standing there looking at her, his eyes forlorn as the alcohol soaked his jacket. Before she could do anything, the flames started to spread._

Anya woke up screaming, the clock on her nightstand buzzing its alarm. Next to her, the flame on her scented candle continued to burn.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's Note:<strong> _Thanks for reading this far! Feedback is appreciated, even negative feedback! __

____Not all the characters have assigned names so I had to look up common names for each language or country or use popular fanon names. New ones introduc_ed in this chapter are **Fem!Italy**, who goes by **Alice Vargas**, and** Male!Monaco**, who goes by** Ranier Alexandre**.___


	4. Chapter IV

_**Author's Note:** Yeah, I know it's been ages. Not going to make any promises for when the next chapter is going to be posted because I know better, but hopefully it will be soon. Thank you to my beta, Icelilly, for putting up with my erratic updates._

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><p><strong>Chapter IV<strong>

Dmitri Braginskaya never had a terribly high opinion of himself.

It had been that way as far back as he could remember. From when he was a small child, starved for attention from his distant parents, to a week prior, when he found himself utterly humiliated in front of his sister and one of his coworkers. Though it was hardly the first time he had felt embarrassment around Anya, it was the first time his family life and his sexual conquests had unraveled in such a public setting.

Those have been the three threads that had followed him his entire life – shame, low self-esteem, and his relationship with women. When he was young it would dovetail nicely into girls ignoring him and his persistent discomfort keeping him withdrawn. In high school it only became worse, as puberty began to wreck havoc upon him. For an entire year, his life had been consumed by mood swings, militant acne, and growing pains that left him feeling fatigued and helpless. At the same time, his parents began spending less and less time at home, and the responsibility of raising his siblings had somehow fallen onto his shoulders.

Anya had similar problems, but whenever she was faced with adversity she didn't give in to her insecurities. Instead, she became a force of nature. People gravitated to her as a result, as if they were seeking her protection from the elements, and she was spared from the lonely existence he faced every day.

That is, until the day girls started to notice him.

He was sixteen years old when he lost his virginity. The girl had a well-known reputation for living in the moment and causing mischief, and she took a shining to him at a party Anya forced him to attend. He was such a fumbling bundle of nerves that he didn't notice her surprise and subsequent careful maneuvering throughout the entire experience. He returned home late that night with a silly grin on his face and the expectation that something like that would never happen again.

It was a week later when one of Anya's friends in his class approached him and asked him to tutor her in biology. Within fifteen minutes of arriving at her house, she was straddling him on her bed and pulling off her shirt. Like the last girl, she made her disinterest in anything more than sex perfectly clear, but she didn't mask her shock as well as the encounter escalated.

From that day on, Dmitri found that some of the girls in his school began gravitating toward him, while the rest of the students seemed to pay him as little attention as they had before. Though occasionally, he found himself the target of vicious or contemptible stares from some of the girls who still showed no interest in him.

It wasn't until a rather awkward conversation with Anya and Nikolai that the implications of everything seemed to hit him.

From then on he found himself avoiding women, mortified that he had earned what he saw a sleazy reputation. Though he still found himself occasionally tempted, he didn't actually start pursuing women until college.

And while his amount of sexual activity wasn't anywhere near the level it was in high school, he would still participate in the occasional one night stand. And after Alice tore him a new one at lunch the other day, he swore to himself that it wouldn't ever happen again.

Suffice to say he didn't uphold this vow.

"Found them!" Dmitri tore a condom packet off the strip in his drawer and rolled over to face the woman he had met that night while out on the town.

He first saw her at the air hockey table that was a gag decoration at a bar he frequented. (After the incident at the restaurant he also vowed to drink more). As he sat down, he watched her beat several people with ease, though he noticed that she seemed pretty sober while her competitors were obviously inebriated. After about an hour, he decided he needed to at least know the name of the girl who made half the bar feel completely miserable.

"That doesn't seem particularly ethical," Dmitri observed as she collected her winnings from her most recent challenger.

"Hey, I'm up front about it. If they're still willing to play it's their own fault," She flashed him a grin, "So are you my next victim?"

"Nope, you're the next… loser," Dmitri said after a moment, extremely glad he had not said 'victim.'

"We'll see," She snorted. "I'm Meg. Who are you?"

"Dmitri."

"That's a stupid name."

"Thanks," Dmitri rebutted dryly, as Meg immediately scored.

After Meg won the first game, Dmitri immediately demanded a rematch at double the stakes. After another hour, Meg had won several games in a row, and Dmitri was beginning to reach his limit on alcohol consumption.

In his ensuing state of confusion, he found himself being led back to his apartment by Meg, who seemed to easily support him despite her smaller frame.

"I think I'm okay now. I burn off the alcohol pretty quickly," Dmitri stammered, attempting to steady himself.

"I'm sure," Meg replied, sounding somewhat annoyed, "Do you have a key?"

"Anya! Nikolai! Open up!" Dmitri shouted, knocking on the door.

"Pipe down!" Nikolai hissed as he flung open the door. He had clearly been woken up, and his hair was sticking up in clumps.

"Help me get him inside," Meg ordered as she began shoving Dmitri through the door.

"Just put him on the couch," Nikolai nodded, not making much of an effort to help her.

"Thanks."

The next thing Dmitri remembered, Anya was waking him up for work. Nikolai later explained that Meg left after putting him on the couch and throwing a blanket over him.

"She says that you owe her money or something?" Nikolai yawned, pouring a cup of coffee, "She said to meet her at the air hockey table tonight to pay up."

"Oh crap, I hope I didn't lose too much to her! I have bills to pay!" Dmitri groaned.

"Sucks to be you," Nikolai shouted back and he headed to their room.

That night, Dmitri went back to the bar and found Meg running the same scam as the night before; though this time she sported a drink in her hand.

"Letting your guard down?" Dmitri asked.

Meg looked at him and then nodded at the television.

"Hockey game. The Senators are creaming the Rangers and I think that calls for a celebration."

"I never completely got hockey. My sister's really into it though."

"She has good taste then. Better than yours anyway."

"What does that mean?"

"Last night when I asked your brother to pay me, he assumed I was a hooker. Guess that means you sleep with a lot of prostitutes."

"No," Dmitri sighed, "It actually means he is a crude little bastard."

"I see. First time someone's ever called me a hooker though," Meg laughed, "I tend to blend into the crowd so I don't get called much of anything actually."

"Seriously?" Dmitri said, "You don't seem like the type."

"Trust me. When my sister's around, no one is paying attention to whose standing behind her," Meg turned and grabbed a pool stick, "So today's game is pool. Care to add to your immense debt?"

While Dmitri would've liked to say that he refused, paid his debt, and returned home at a reasonable hour – it was not meant to be. Again, he found himself being escorted home by Meg, though he wasn't quite as drunk as last time and was able to walk on his own.

"Oh look, someone's developed a drinking problem," Nikolai rolled his eyes as he opened the door. "You're on the couch again tonight. I don't want you puking in our room."

"So you share a room with your brother…" Meg observed after Nikolai left.

"Space is tight. My parents are complete bums and dropped him on us."

"That sucks. With him around, it's no wonder you have to pay people to have sex with you."

"Not quite," Dmitri grinned. Before he could stop himself, he leaned forward and kissed Meg.

It wasn't intense or sloppy, and he certainly didn't do anything like lick her face or fall asleep on her shoulder, but he still felt embarrassed when he pulled away. "I'm sorry. I should have asked."

"Don't worry about it," Meg threw the blanket over him and stood up, "But you're not getting laid tonight, just FYI."

The rest of the week seemed to repeat this pattern. Dmitri would meet Meg at the bar, they would play air hockey, he would lose a chunk of money, and she'd guide him back home after he had too much to drink. Even though he felt like complete crap every morning, he was having too much fun to care. Plus, his haggard appearance at the start of the day gave him an excuse not to stop and chat with Amelia.

On Saturday, Dmitri entered the bar and discovered it was absolutely packed. Looking around in confusion, he felt a tap on his shoulder, and Meg motioned to him to follow her outside.

"Want to go somewhere else?" he asked.

"Duh," Meg nodded as a bunch of people tumbled out of the door, pushed by the crowd.

They tossed a couple of ideas around but in the end they walked a roundabout way back to Dmitri's apartment. They stopped at a few stores and either made fun of the merchandise or silently wished they were able to afford it.

"Maybe when you pay me back I'll be able to afford nice things," Meg let out an exaggerated sigh.

"About that… I'm good for most of it, but last night pushed me over my limit. I have to buy groceries and stuff."

"It's fine. I'm sure you'll figure something out."

"That… sounds terrifying."

"It doesn't have to be. I'm not a psychopath," Meg snorted.

"Yeah, you're a… what do you do for a living anyway?"

"I work at the zoo downtown."

"Really?"

"Yup. Got all the necessary Degrees and everything. I mostly just help out the people who've been there longer."

"That's cool!" Dmitri grinned, "I bet it won't be long before you're in charge of taking care of all those animals."

"I doubt it," Meg smirked, "I don't exactly draw attention at work. More likely that Australian chick with the death wish will get a promotion before I will."

"You don't know that."

Meg shook her head, "I normally don't mind it, but sometimes it sucks when you go unnoticed."

"Trust me, I've been on both sides of the fence and being noticed can suck a lot too."

"I'll take your word for it," Meg rested her head on Dmitri's shoulder, smiling faintly.

By the time they reached Dmitri's apartment they had been walking in silence for a while, just enjoying each other's company.

"There's something different here. Now what is it… Oh yeah, I'm not a drunk mess!" Dmitri smirked, "Sorry about this past week."

"Don't apologize. I've been having fun." Meg smiled, "Being noticed may suck sometimes but this time certainly wasn't one of them."

Hesitating for a moment, Dmirti leaned down and kissed her again. Instead of standing limply like she had the last time, Meg pushed back, and wrapped her arms around him.

Dmitri had never been kissed like this before. Sure, he had kissed girls he'd been with before, but those were flings and didn't have anywhere near the amount of emotion that was in this embrace. He felt his pulse race and his heart speed up, sending a light feeling shooting up his spine.

It was the type of kiss he'd never imagined he would be a participant in.

Pushing their way through the door, Dmirti threw his keys on the counter and they made their way to the bedroom, only occasionally breaking the kiss to catch their breath.

Dmitri silently thanked whatever force controlled the universe that the apartment was empty. He didn't want to stop kissing Meg, stop touching her, or stop feeling her so close to him.

"You're good at this," Meg moaned, after Dmitri broke the kiss and began kissing and nibbling along her neck and collarbone. His hands rested on her back, caressing her skin which seemed just sun-kissed enough to suggest that she had spent a great deal of time outside. She was light, but Dmitri knew he didn't have to worry about hurting her. If anything, she seemed to be responding more when his motions were less tender and more primal.

Dmitri left her collarbone and allowed himself to pant a little, leaning back onto the bed while Meg lay on top of him, sliding her body against his own. He resisted the urge to whimper, his jeans beginning to constrict.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Meg teased, and began lifting up her shirt. Dmitri couldn't stop himself from whimpering a little then.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Dmitri was woken up by a loud banging noise at the door, followed by muffled yelling. Rolling over, he glared at the "6:55" flashing on the clock, resentful that he hadn't been able to get in another five minutes of sleep before his alarm went off.<p>

Though when he encountered Anya in the living room, he was glad he had a restful night.

"If it's Kamile at the door, I'm going to kill her, and you're going to hide the body," Anya hissed, rubbing her eyes, which were beginning to form dark circles around them.

"I knew you haven't been sleeping well, but god you look terrible!"

"Gee thanks. Maybe if my asshole roommate didn't bring the loudest girl ever home with him last night I would have gotten some rest!" Anya snapped, throwing open the door.

"Anya!" Amelia cooed, a cartoonish smile on her face.

"What the hell do you want?"

"I, um-" Amelia took a step back, clearly thrown, "I was hoping to speak to all three of you…"

"You are."

Dmitri and Anya jumped and turned to see Nikolai standing behind them. He clearly slept better than Anya, but still looked rather annoyed. And while Dmitri had hastily thrown on his clothes from the night before, Nikolai was just in his boxers.

"Oh, good," Amelia's face turned red and she pretended to hide behind some papers she was holding, "It's nice to meet you Nick. I've heard so much about you."

"I see," Nikolai frowned. "What do you want?"

"Well, I was throwing a networking party and I was hoping you guys could attend! A bunch of people from the office are going and bringing whomever, and you guys should bring a bunch of people too!"

"Sure, we'll go!" Dmitri smiled and grabbed the fliers before Anya could object, "It's so early though. Can we talk about it more at work tomorrow?"

"Sure!" Amelia brightened. She looked Nikolai over again before saying her goodbyes and running off.

"Why did you agree to that? I don't want to go, and I don't want to have to babysit this one either," Anya seethed, pointing at Nikolai.

"It's a _networking_ party Anya. It's not just a good thing for me to go to, but for you also. If you want to move on from that job you hate so much, having connections will help a lot!"

"I guess," Anya sighed, the flare of anger that had kept her going clearly running out, "But you have to keep an eye on Nikolai since you said he was going too."

"No problem," Dmitri declared, snatching the beer out of Nikolai's hand as he walked by. Nikolai flashed him a glare before collapsing on the couch.

"What's the commotion?"

Dmitri looked up to see Meg wrapped up in his bed sheets, surveying the scene. Anya's face immediately became flushed and she bounded back to her room.

"Just family stuff," Dmitri groaned, "I don't mean to sound like an asshole, but couldn't you have put some clothes on?"

"I wanted to go back to bed," Meg yawned, smiling. "Come back with me."

"I'll be right there." Dmitri smiled back. After Meg went back to their room, Nikolai let out a wolf-whistle. "Knock it off."

* * *

><p>After spending some of the morning in bed, Meg gathered her stuff and left, promising to call Dmitri soon. Normally, Dmirti wouldn't have paid much mind to this type of exchange (and neither would the girl, to be perfectly honest) but this time he sincerely hoped this would lead somewhere. After showering and getting dressed, he began the long, arduous process of waking up Nikolai before noon on a weekend.<p>

"Fuck off," Nikolai groaned, shoving him away before burying himself further into the blankets.

"I have errands to do this afternoon, so we're getting this done now!" Dmitri declared, yanking off sheets, "If none of my nice clothes fit, then we're going to have to set aside time to buy you something for Amelia's party on Friday!"

"God, why do I even have to go?" Nikolai growled, grabbing onto a sheet and attempting to pull it back.

"Because you need to get up off your ass. It's not fair to me and it's not fair to Anya. We're both working long hours. On top of it all, your sister hasn't been sleeping well, and my guess is it's because she's worried about you."

Nikolai let go of the sheet, sitting up, "She's… worried about me?"

"Probably! Hell, I'm worried about you too. We've _been_ worried about you for _years_. So I would really appreciate it if you'd cooperate with me and make a good impression at this party. Who knows? If you make the right connections you might have somewhere to go after you go back and finish school."

Somewhere in that speech, Dmitri seemed to have struck a nerve. Without any arguing, Nikolai got up and went into the bathroom to take a shower, and Dmitri went back in his room to go through his mess of a closet.

He would never admit this to anyone, but he blamed himself a lot for how Nikolai turned out. Well, he mostly blamed his parents, but Anya and Nikolai had basically been his responsibility for as long as he could remember. Whenever he thought about all the trouble Nikolai got into, and the state he was in now, he couldn't help but feel that somewhere along the way he did something that broke his little brother.

When Nikolai came back into their room, Dmitri pointed to some nicer clothes he had managed to find, and he tried him on without complaint. After a few minutes, Nikolai spoke up.

"Didn't Anya get me something a couple of years back?"

"Oh you mean that blazer?" Dmitri raked his brain. "I think it's here somewhere. You want to wear that?"

"I don't know. Maybe. None of these pants fit though."

"Then we'll have to get your something later this week," Dmitri sighed.

"I think I have some money. I remember I opened a back account a couple of years back. I could use that."

"It's fine, I got it covered."

"I just don't like being indebted to you any more than I already am," Nikolai murmured, and Dmitri felt another pang, biting back the urge to burden his brother with his worries and guilt.

"Damn."

Dmitri's attention was pulled back as Nikolai held up a chain of opened condom wrappers. "What the hell did you do last night? She wasn't limping, so I thought she like, took off her shirt and then you guys fell asleep."

"Anya said we were loud though-" Dmitri murmured, his face turning red as he tried focusing his attention back on finding clothes.

"I was plastered so I wouldn't know," Nikolai snickered. "Damn. Hold on to this one. I think she's the first one whose insurance rates haven't skyrocketed."

"I don't appreciate those jokes for a lot of reasons Nikolai," Dmitri gave him a stern look, forcing himself to overlook his embarrassment. "So please stop."

"Fine," Nikolai shrugged, throwing a pair of pants at this face. "These don't fit either."

After a couple of hours, they decided on a shirt and tie, along with the blazer Anya had gotten him. The pants that came with it fit well enough, to both of their relief.

"Well, now that that's settled," Nikolai yawned, "Can I go back to bed?"

"It's 2:30!"

"Hey, I just got that 2:30 feeling."

"Ha ha," Dmitri deadpanned as Nikolai stripped off his clothes and attempted to keep them unwrinkled, "I was serious before though. We have to figure out something for you to do between now and whenever you decide to return to school. Becoming an alcoholic shut-in isn't a career path."

"I know. I'll take care of it," Nikolai murmured as he collapsed on his bed and began to nod off.

Dmitri was a bit taken aback. He had expected Nikolai to just flip him off. _Maybe he's just humoring me,_ Dmitri lamented, though in the back of his mind he knew that the only one he's ever really humored was Anya. For all his flaws, Nikolai was always straight with Dmitri.

_Maybe I didn't screw up completely_, Dmitri smiled to himself as he turned off the light and closed the door on his way out. For the first time in a long time, he finally felt like maybe things in his life would begin to brighten.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's Note:<strong> _Thanks for reading this far! Feedback is appreciated, even negative feedback!__

_Not all the characters have assigned names so I had to look up common names for each language or country or use popular fanon names. The only new one included in this chapter is **Fem!Canada**, who goes by **Maguerite "Meg" Williams**._


	5. Chapter V

_**Author's Note:**__ God, it's been three years since I started this fic and I'm only about halfway done. This chapter was actually half-written back in 2012 but I've only now gotten to finishing it. (I've been busy with school the past two years). I'm hopeful that I'll be able to get this finished before the year is up. Thank you to Icelilly for beta-reading this chapter._

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><p><strong>Chapter V<strong>

"Remember. We just want to get through this. No drama. No craziness. Understand?"

"For the twentieth time, yes!" Nikolai mumbled from the back, looking out the car window as the visages of shops and houses flew by.

"I promised I'd keep an eye on him. You don't have to worry about anything," Dmitri reassured her. Nikolai glared at the back of his head.

"Good," Anya nodded, hoping she appeared more confident than she actually was. Amelia had made it sound like there would be a lot of important people at this party, and Anya didn't want to come off as the ditsy girl who might as well be an intern at her workplace.

That would be bad on so many levels.

_It's better than that summer I worked at the Pharmacy_, she mused, cringing at the memory of an old lady buying a stack of condoms the other day. _And my boss can't complain that I'm not giving it my all…_

"You're paying attention to the road right?"

"Yes!" Anya yelped, pressing on the gas and passing through the green light.

* * *

><p><em>I wish I were working the Pharmacy right now. There's drugs there.<em>

Amelia had exaggerated about the caliber of the party guests… but not by much. Anya recognized several people from Dmitri's company, as well as a couple of people who owned businesses near where she worked.

"Anya!"

Anya jumped and looked around warily, finally spotting Amelia waving her over. Standing next to her was an intimidating-looking woman with light blonde hair and square-framed glasses.

_I wish I was in a car accident right now_, Anya shivered.

"Anya," Amelia swept her arm towards the woman. "This is Ingrid Oxenstierna. Ingrid, Anya. Miss Oxenstierna owns the furniture store down the street from your office."

"Oh yes, I've been in your shop before!" Anya exclaimed, grabbing Miss Oxenstierna's hand and shaking it. "It's beautiful. It must be wonderful owning your own business."

"Hmmm," Miss Oxenstierna mumbled, taking her hand back, "'cept for that fuckin' IKEA."

"Oh…" Anya stuttered, not entirely sure how to respond.

"I would love to chat more, but I need to check on my other guests," Amelia curtseyed. "I hope to see you later."

_Don't leave me alone with her!_ Anya seethed, watching the athletic girl sprint to the other side of the room – in heels no less.

Miss Oxenstierna was still staring at her, so Anya cleared her throat, "Um, How are you tonight?"

"Good," Miss Oxenstierna responded, seeming more bored than hostile. Anya laughed nervously. "What's funny?"

"Nothing," Anya yelped. "I, um…"

"There you are Anya."

_FUCK_, Anya screamed internally as Nikolai placed his hand on her shoulder and kissed her on the cheek, lingering for a few seconds longer than necessary.

"Nikolai, this is Ingrid Oxenstierna. She owns Swedish Imports." Anya motioned towards Miss Oxenstierna, who seemed oblivious to Nikolai's advances. "Miss Oxenstierna, this is my brother Nikolai."

"Nice to meet you," Nikolai held out his hand, but Miss Oxenstierna simply stared at it. Nikolai rescinded and met her stare, "So what do you sell at Swedish Imports?"

"Lamps, dolls," Miss Oxenstierna recited, never breaking eye contact.

"What about tables?"

"Lots'a tables," Miss Oxenstierna mumbled.

_This is disturbing_. Anya frowned, watching the exchange in apprehension. After a few minutes she decided to risk an exit, and threw herself back into the throngs of the party.

"This is some party Amelia!" Anya turned and saw Dmitri chatting with the blonde, who was decked out in a red dress, different from before, that would make Jessica Rabbit blush.

"You two!" Anya hissed, walking forward with enough purpose to convey her anger but controlled enough not to cause a scene. A delicate balance she had ample opportunity to perfect over the years.

"Oh, Anya…" Dmitri laughed nervously, "You know Amelia, right?"

"Well, yeah. She does," Amelia blinked.

"I thought you said you were going to keep an eye on Nikolai," Anya snapped.

"I was, but he said he'd behave himself so-"

"So you believed him? He's currently trying to out-glare Ingrid Oxenstierna!"

"Where?" Amelia asked, looking over Anya's shoulder. Anya turned around to point them out, but they had already left.

"Crap. Where did he go?!"

"I don't understand though…" Amelia interrupted, "I mean, I know he's kind of surly and everything, but if he was that much trouble would you have brought him?"

"You would think, but I'm seriously starting to wish we hadn't."

"He'll be fine. If anything goes wrong, I'll take the fall," Dmitri announced calmly.

"You better," Anya glared, before pointedly turning away and heading towards the makeshift bar in the corner of the room. She needed vodka. Vodka never let her down.

"I'd like a screwdriver, hold the orange juice," Anya asked, scanning the rest of the room for Nikolai.

"Oh god, it's you again."

_This is a living nightmare._ Anya forced a smile and turned to face Katarina Vargas, the bartender.

"I'm glad you're up and walking around," Anya gushed.

"Yeah, well," Katarina huffed, pouring the drink, "I guess I should apologize for my sister going off on you guys. She's a hothead."

"It's fine I guess. Is she here tonight?"

"Somewhere." Katarina shrugged, "Maybe she's robbing the place. I would kill to live here."

"Same," Anya agreed, simultaneously envying Amelia's rather spacious apartment (that was clearly a gift from her parents) and praying that Nikolai wasn't helping Alice move a television.

"A screwdriver without orange juice is just vodka and ice, right?" Katarina frowned, pushing the glass forward. "My cousin usually does this stuff but she's out of town."

_There's more of you? God help us all._ Anya held up her drink in thanks and dived back into the crowd to begin networking.

The next hour proved to be both disappointing and enlightening. When she started off an exchange by stating her current profession, most seemed uninterested in talking to her. But halfway through she began presenting herself as a recent college graduate, and people seemed much more receptive to her academic achievements.

"Having any luck?" Anya turned around and spotted Dmitri leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets.

"Outgoing aren't we?" Anya smirked.

"Every time I go in there, Amelia drags me off to meet someone," Dmitri gagged, "I think she's showing me off like I'm her boyfriend."

"Does it matter? I mean, it's not like you're attached, and having that thing on your arm might score you some points," Anya nodded toward Amelia, who was chatting with a group of young men.

"Misogyny isn't a good color on you," Dmitri scowled. "Besides… I'm kind of involved with someone."

"I don't believe you."

"You already met her. It's-"

"-Meg," Anya interrupted in surprise, staring at the figure entering the room. Dmitri turned and looked similarly dumbfounded.

The blonde was wearing a pearl white dress with red accents, and she almost seemed to shine. If it weren't for Amelia, every guy in the room would've immediately been in her orbit.

"Oh Dmitri," Meg glided over, grinning, "I didn't know you'd be here! Maybe now this event won't be completely tedious."

"Wha-" Dmitri stared at her chest, dumbfounded.

"My eyes are up here," Meg grinned, pushing his chin up until their eyes made contact.

"I'm sorry. I just didn't know any zoo personnel were going to be here."

"Oh they're not," Meg took a sip of what appeared to be champagne, nodding to Anya. "But if I didn't help out with this party Amelia would kill me. You know how sisters can be-"

"You're her sister?!" Anya and Dmitri proclaimed in unison a little louder than they had intended. Luckily, most guests seemed too engrossed in their conversations to notice.

Meg blinked. "I didn't know you knew Amelia. I told you I had a sister, remember?"

"Vaguely," Dmitri admitted, fidgeting nervously. "I'm just having a hard time processing this."

"Well, why don't we process this elsewhere?" Meg suggested, leaning forward and grinning. "No one will notice if I duck out for a bit."

"No, but your sister's kind of been all over him all night," Anya interrupted, suppressing the instinct to gag in a childishly exaggerated fashion. "Something tells me she won't be happy if you drag away her date."

"What's life without a little danger?" Meg winked. She grabbed Dmitri's hand and began leading him towards the back. "Come on, I know there are some empty rooms in the back."

"I love you, Vodka," Anya mumbled, before downing the rest of the glass in hopes that she'd forget the implications of what had just happened.

"Having fun I see?"

Anya almost spit out the drink in surprise, as an elegantly dressed woman seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"Are you alright?" She asked, sipping her drink calmly despite her question.

"Yes," Anya gasped unattractively, almost dropping her empty glass before a pair of hands steadied her.

For a brief moment she was consumed by the fear that Nikolai was putting the moves on her in public. But then she realized that they were darker and belonged to a rather handsome looking gentleman who smiled at her encouragingly.

"Don't want you collapsing," He smiled, letting her go and walking over to the woman. "You really need to stop scaring people Marianne."

"You're lucky you're handsome," Marianne winked, turning her attention back to Anya. "You wouldn't happen to be Anya Braginskaya, would you?"

"Um, yes," Anya answered, tearing her eyes away from Marianne's companion. _He smelled like sunflowers_.

"Amelia was talking about you earlier. Something about her sorority?"

_Oh god. She's seriously talking about that?_

"We attended college together and spent time in the same sorority," Anya forced a calculated smile, "But I must stress that Amelia has a tendency to exaggerate."

"Doesn't everyone?" Marianne took a sip of her wine, savoring it for a moment before swallowing. "Jacques, could you get me another drink? I'm almost done with this one."

"Yes, as I live to be your errand boy," Jacques bowed in an exaggerated fashion before heading in the direction of the open bar.

Marianne giggled to herself. "I swear, that man…" she muttered, before turning back to Anya. "So I hear you're a recent college graduate with a stunning Academic record?"

"Y-yes," Anya answered, realizing that she probably sounded pretty lame talking about school instead of her job prospects. "But I think my work experience is what's gonna make me a valuable employee-"

"Honey, it's okay," Marianne interrupted, putting her hand on Anya's shoulder. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to force you into job interview mode."

Anya laughed nervously, "Am I really that tightly wound?"

"I wouldn't go that far," Marianne said, "Networking can be nerve-wrecking, but it's those that are cool and collected that people respond to. What I do is I think of something that makes me relax."

"You get nervous?"

Marianne smiled, "Of course. Everyone gets nervous. Some are just better at hiding it than others. Now, calm down and think of something relaxing."

Anya took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She was in a field. A warm field. The sound of birds swooping down on a babbling brook nearby filled the air. All around her there were sunflowers – bright, cheerful sunflowers-

"Your drink, Mademoiselle"

Anya nearly jumped out of her skin when Marianne's companion returned.

"I'm sorry, where are my manners," Marianne said, "I'm Marianne Bonnefoy and this is my boyfriend Jacques. We own _Printemps_, the French Restaurant down on Elm. Some of our staff is working this party tonight."

"Oh! I've been there recently!" Anya exclaimed, "It's a lovely place!"

"Oh? That's great to hear." Marianne said. "It's been lovely chatting with you, but I'm sorry to say I must go make sure my charges aren't getting up to any mischief." She paused, before continuing, "We should do lunch sometime. How's next Monday?"

"That sounds great," Anya answered, silently hoping that her boss wouldn't mind another long lunch.

"Au Revoir." Jacques said as disappeared into the crowd of the party, and Anya found herself in much better spirits. Granted, restaurant work wasn't necessarily the networking she had planned to do, but it was something. And they seemed nice enough.

She just wished she looked less like an alcoholic. Though she didn't like musing over the exact definition of that word because it only made her depressed, and there was only so much vodka at that bar.

Turning back to the crowd with a renewed sense of enthusiasm, she walked up to the nearest businessperson and began talking.

* * *

><p>Running into Marianne and Jacques was just what Anya had needed.<p>

Specifically, Marianne's advice was just what she had needed. Forcibly putting herself in her happy place made her come across much friendlier and accessible than she had before. And even though most weren't impressed by her resume, her charms kept them around long enough to change that impression, if only a little.

Anya had gotten her eleventh contact when Dmitri and Meg discretely came back into the main room. Both looked extremely happy and Anya resisted the urge to down her entire soda, pretending it was vodka, in front of the regional branch manager of the local supply store.

"What happened to our deal?" Anya asked in a frighteningly calm voice a few minutes later.

Dmitri stared back with a blank expression.

"His name rhymes with Sickolai."

"Shit," Dmitri began looking around frantically but Anya knew it wouldn't be of any use. She hadn't seen Nikolai since she ditched him and scary furniture lady.

"You mean your brother?" Meg asked, turning to Anya. "I saw him go into the kitchen with some girl when I was on my way out to join the party. Maybe he's still in there?"

"Thanks!" Anya nodded, before briskly making her way over to the kitchen. Dmitri started to follow her but Anya waved him back over to Meg. At least one of them should be in good company tonight.

"Hey, has a sour looking guy come in here sometime in the past few hours?"

"Yeah." The bored looking caterer nodded toward the back door. "He's out there."

Sure enough, Nikolai was leaning against a wall outside, some kind of alcohol bottle in hand.

"Having fun networking?" Nikolai asked, taking a swig. He didn't have the mocking nor belligerently drunk attitude he normally had. Mostly he seemed bored.

"What are you doing out here?" Anya said furiously. "The whole point of bringing you here was to network."

"I was." Nikolai snapped, "I was having about as much luck as you were. But then stuff happened and I figured it wouldn't be a good idea to go back in pissed… in more than one sense of the word I guess."

"What does that mean?" Anya asked, "and I was told you came out here with a girl?"

"Yeah. You might know her. Goes by the name Kamilė."

Anya stared at him. "Kamilė was here?"

"Is here. I think she went back inside."

"But people said she was drunk. Kamilė isn't a lightweight."

"I don't know. Nerves maybe," Nikolai shrugged angrily. "She ran into me after I ditched Ingrid Oxenstierna and I figured it wouldn't be a good idea to leave her in there. I was right. She threw up over there." Nikolai motioned near where Anya was standing and she quickly jumped away from it.

"So what happened?" Anya asked, staring at her brother warily.

"She was a mess. She talked about work for a while. I tried to get her a cab but then she tried to give me head."

"W-what?!" Anya choked out.

"I said no and then she hit me. Pretty sure it was an accident but it still fucking hurt. Then she went inside."

"Shit," Anya looked back at the apartment and then turned to Nikolai. "Come help me get her."

"For obvious reasons I don't feel comfortable near her right now."

"She's _drunk_ Nikolai. And should you really be the one taking the moral high ground on unwanted advances?"

Nikolai froze and stared at her, "I-" he sputtered before turning and staring at the ground.

Anya snorted and went back inside. Scanning the room, it didn't take long to find Kamilė, who had practically draped herself over the bar.

"Please just one more," she pleaded to Katarina, who looked more annoyed than that morning in the kitchen.

"For the last time, no. You already stole some whiskey from me."

"But it's freeee right?"

Katarina groaned, and glared daggers at Anya when she made her way over. "Figures she's be with you. You seem to attract weird people like flies."

"Tell me about it," Anya sighed in resignation. "Come on honey. Time to go home."

"Don't wanna. Wanna get job. Wanna get guy. Wanna have it allllll…" Kamilė groaned in a drunken haze.

"Oh good lord she wants to be Sex in the City," Katarina smirked.

"Is everything okay here?"

_Shit._ Anya thought to herself as Amelia seemed to pop out of nowhere.

"It's nothing. Kamilė's just a bit tired," Anya tried to explain as Kamilė nearly smashed her head onto the bar.

Amelia stared at Anya for a moment before rolling her eyes. "Let's take her into my sister's bedroom. Something tells me she's not up for long travel."

Anya thought about arguing but Kamilė was looking rather sickly, so she quietly helped Amelia move her into one of the bedrooms.

_Oh god the sheets are a mess_, Anya cringed, remembering what had just transpired on there. _Oh well. It's her own fault for drinking too much_.

"Thank you," Anya said, after unceremoniously depositing Kamilė onto the bed.

"It's fine. This way I don't have to make up a reason to keep Meg and Dmitri from doing it in the apartment," Amelia sighed, clearly annoyed.

"Ah. Yeah…" Anya added, not sure how to respond to that.

"I'm not going to give up on him."

Anya blinked, "Um…"

"I'm in it to win it!" Amelia punched his fist up in the air triumphantly.

"Great party. Thanks for the invitation!" Anya interjected, turning and leaving the apartment as fast as she could without drawing attention. There were many things she was willing to overlook here, but constantly hearing about her brother's sex life was one thing she couldn't take anymore.

By the time she got to the car Nikolai was leaning on the hood, the bottle he had before discarded somewhere.

"Let's go. Dmitri and Meg can find their own way back."

Nikolai nodded silently in response.

The drive home was just as quiet. Not a quite rage or a quiet tension, but a quiet exhaustion. To the point where Anya questioned a couple of times whether it was safe to drive. But she had stopped drinking a few hours ago, so if anything were to kill them it would be the quiet exhaustion.

Nikolai didn't speak at all until they were back inside the apartment.

"I love you Anya," He said quietly, before collapsing onto the couch, burying his face in the pillows.

"I love you too Nikolai," Anya responded, a tinge of sadness in her voice. _Just not like that_.

* * *

><p><em>That night Anya only had one dream. Jacques and Marianne were serving everyone tea and Dmitri and Meg were dancing to music that came out of nowhere. Someone had asked Anya to dance, but she didn<em> _'t see who._

_"It's such a beautiful night tonight,"_ _her partner whispered. Anya recognized the voice. Nikolai dipped her and drew her close once more, perfectly waltzing her across the floor._

_The room became full of shouting. Anya felt water explode all over her. Amelia was throwing water balloons at her. Everyone was leaving the party._

_"It's okay Anya,"_ _Nikolai said, pulling her closer into the waltz, "I won't leave you. I love you with all my heart."_

_The water balloons kept exploding and water filled the room until they drowned._

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's Note:<strong> Thanks for reading this far! Feedback is appreciated, even negative feedback!_

_Not all the characters have assigned names so I had to look up common names for each language or country or use popular fanon names. New ones included in this chapter are __**Fem!Sweden**__, who goes by __**Ingrid Oxenstierna**__, __**Fem!France**__, who goes by __**Marianne Bonnefoy**__, and __**Male!Seychelles**__, who goes by __**Jacques St. Ange**__._


	6. Chapter VI

_**Author's Note:**__ I'll still be updating this particular fic here, but otherwise I've pretty much moved to AO3. The link to my account is in my profile. Thank you to Icelily for beta-ing this chapter._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter VI<strong>

It had seemed like a good idea at the time.

But then again, a lot of other things had seemed like good ideas to Dmitri but had turned out to be disasters. Sleeping with Cindy Marshall. Letting Nikolai use the toaster oven. Buying stock in Facebook.

But this definitely ranked at the top of the list, and the universe was punishing him in the form of a very drunk Kamilė.

"Oh god. I'm such a-" She choked out, before dry heaving once more into the toilet. Dmitri stood nearby, awkwardly, wearing nothing but a wrinkled pair of boxers, not sure whether to move her over to the sink or go outside and pee in the alley.

_Vodka, why have you betrayed me?_

In retrospect, he should have taken Kamilė's presence in Meg's bed as a sign that they should take their business elsewhere, but they were already pretty tipsy and neither wanted to pay for a cab. In the end, they had led a drunken Kamilė to the rather comfortable-looking couch in the living room, and immediately began tearing each other's clothes off in the privacy of the bedroom.

"I'm such an idiot," Kamilė groaned with her head halfway in the toilet bowl. "Why did I slap him? Why do I care so much…"

"There, there… friend. It'll be okay" Dmitri murmured encouragingly, still keeping his distance.

After a few minutes, it became clear that Kamilė wasn't going to budge, and Dmitri reluctantly relieved himself in the alley, grateful for how dark it was.

_Something tells me she's well on her way to getting over him_, Dmitri mused. Part of him was relieved for Kamilė's sake. After all, being in a relationship with Nikolai would likely be full of bitterness and disappointment.

On the other hand, he wished that Nikolai would be able to find someone like Kamilė. Someone who really had their act together. Well, aside from tonight anyway.

When he got back into the bedroom Meg was sound asleep. Careful not to wake her, he settled underneath what sheets hadn't been commandeered and tried to block out the sounds Kamilė was making.

_She'll be okay right? She's right over the toilet…_ Dmitri thought to himself, before passing out.

* * *

><p>The following morning, Dmitri would recall two dreams from his slumber. He remembered these two specifically because they were both interrupted and unfinished.<p>

_"There are an awful lot of escalators here," Dmitri said to himself, looking about what seemed to be his place of work. Amelia sat at a desk in the middle of a room that acted like a hub for all the escalators going every which way._

_"Of course. The fire marshal requires it," She nodded, looking down at her computer. "You better pick one soon. Loitering is frowned upon."_

_"But which one do I choose?" Dmitri asked._

_"It depends on where you're going!" Amelia snapped, her eyes never wandering from the screen in front of her._

_"I'm not sure where I'm supposed to be going though."_

_"That is a problem," Amelia clicked her tongue and went silent, looking at her screen and typing something._

_Dmitri turned and looked at all the escalators. A couple of them had stopped moving while others had sped up._

_"Dmitri! Let's go!" Meg waved from the top of a rapidly moving escalator. Dmitri started to walk toward it, but visions of himself being flung into the air and horribly injured by it plagued his psyche._

_"Yeah, that would suck wouldn't it?" Nikolai sneered. He was below Meg, and seemed to be situated near and elevator that's come to a complete stop._

_"Dude, no. It's not worth it."_

_Dmitri looked around, but he couldn't place where Katarina's voice was coming from. "Why are you talking like that?"_

_"Because you never really learned how she talked," Amelia clicked her tongue again, still not making eye contact._

Dmitri wasn't entirely sure how the dream ended, but he's fairly sure the clicking made him segue into the other one he remembered.

_This one he was a lot vaguer. He was at some kind of ceremony - a wedding? Yes, it was a wedding. He was standing at the head of the church. Was it his wedding? No, he was too far off to the side... Nikolai's standing where the groom should be._

_The wedding march was playing but no one was coming, a faceless crowd turned and stared at the church's entrance. At least Dmitri thought it was a church. Looking around, he didn't see any religious artifacts, but the building was definitely church-like in design._

_A figure in a veil finally entered the church and everyone rose. Dmitri couldn't tell who she was - she was too far away and her features were obscured. Was it Kamilė?_

Before Dmitri could contemplate anymore, he was woken up by Meg shaking him. "Hey, are you gonna be in bed all day? It's already 9."

"It's Saturday..." Dmitri mumbled, rolling over, "Saturday is sleep-in day."

"Not around here. Today is the day that Amelia is up early and hangs out in the apartment all day. I mean, I guess you guys could hang out and braid each other's hair but..."

"Fine," Dmitri grumbled, sitting up, "Can I at least use your shower?"

* * *

><p><em>I want to marry this shower<em>, Dmitri sighed, all the wear and tear from last night melting off. He didn't get much of a chance to appreciate it last night, but the bathroom in the apartment was absolutely spectacular. Miles above what he was used to.

It also didn't hurt that it showed no signs of Kamilė's episode from last night.

Scrubbing his hair with what appeared to be apple-scented shampoo, Dmitri couldn't help but dwell on the dreams he had the night before. Elevators? Weddings?

If he could derive any meaning from them, it was that he was feeling anxious about how fast things were moving with Meg, and how Nikolai was essentially in stasis. Well, that explained the elevator dream anyway. The wedding dream might have just been the vodka. The kind Amelia had was a weird flavored brand that he didn't particularly care for and didn't plan on having again, though it got the job done.

Or it could have been that new thing he tried in bed with Meg last night. That was definitely something they should do again.

By the time Dmitri was rinsing his hair, all worries about his dreams were forgotten, and instead he was wishing Meg had joined him in the shower.

* * *

><p>When he walked into breakfast, he was greeted with a sight he did not expect to see. Right away, he noticed that Meg's normal easygoing demeanor was replaced by extreme agitation. The cause of which was likely Amelia and Kamilė, who were engaging in conversation so friendly and familiar that Dmitri could scarcely believe it.<p>

"Good morning!" Amelia smiled, holding up a pot of coffee, "Want any?"

"Sure, thanks," Dmitri answered, before Kamilė spoke up again.

"I mean, I get _why_ he's not interested in me. When it comes down to it we're very different people who want different things, but I still wish we could at least give it a shot."

"Kam, you're too optimistic for your own good," Amelia laughed, pouring a new cup of coffee, "It's like saying that I'll get a promotion sooner if my boss had less of a stick up his ass."

"I can't believe he's making you go in to the office this afternoon. You think you could have one day off."

"Well, I did leave early yesterday to get this party organized," Amelia shrugged.

"Yeah, but still," Kamilė smirked, finishing her cup. "So, did you guys have a good night last night?"

"Spectacular," Meg said, still clearly annoyed. "We're gonna hang out at Dmitri's for a bit. I'll be back tonight before we go to the bar."

Dmitri blinked, "Right."

They had no such plans, but Dmitri was not going to point that out while Meg was already in such a sour mood.

"Okay, see you later than-" Amelia started, though she was interrupted by Meg getting up and practically dragging Dmitri out of the kitchen.

"What's going on?" Dmitri demanded as soon as they were out of earshot.

Meg crossed her arms and sighed. "Amelia's fine in the small doses she comes in naturally. I'm used to it. But all through breakfast she and that girl Kamilė practically had me drowning. It was overwhelming. How long can someone talk about a lousy boss and a boy they like? Because apparently it's at least an hour and a half!"

"Yikes," Dmitri said, wondering what could possibly be so interesting about Nikolai that it warranted that long a conversation. "But, I mean, did you try changing the subject?"

"I did, and they wanted to know if you were a good lay."

"Oh?" Dmitri grinned in spite of himself, "What did you say?"

Meg shrugged, "Ehhhh."

"Really? All I get is an Eh?"

"You have to try harder to earn more than an eh," Meg grinned, brightening considerably. "Come on, let's go make sure your siblings made it home in one piece."

* * *

><p>Dmitri counted his lucky stars that the apartment wasn't littered with clothes or trash. The shower was running, and the fact that the coffee-maker was actually brewing indicated that it was Anya who was awake.<p>

"Do you guys have Netflix?" Meg asked, plopping down on the couch and curling up.

"Yeah. Just make sure you're on my account," Dmitri answered, taking off his tie. One thing he wished he had planned for was an overnight stay. It was never fun wearing yesterday's sweaty clothes even if it was just for a short commute.

Nikolai didn't seem to mind though. He was sprawled out face down on his bed out cold, similar to the way he would've been had he spent the day lying around the house. After getting changed into something more comfortable, Dmitri shook him awake.

"What is it?" Nikolai groaned. "Saturday is sleep in day."

"I need to talk to you. About last night."

Nikolai groaned and buried his face in the pillow, "What about it?"

"Did you see anything that interested you?"

Nikolai lifted his head and stared at Dmitri in surprise, "What?"

"There were people there who own businesses. Who have _careers_. Did any of them sound appealing to you?"

Nikolai blinked, "There was this guy who owns a record store but they're downsizing."

"Anyone else?"

"Not… really."

Dmitri sighed and sat down on the bed next to him. "Look, You're going to need to figure out something very soon. Anya and I can't keep supporting you like this. Have you thought about college? I'm sure Mom and Dad would still be willing to pay for it?"

Nikolai mumbled something into his pillow to the effect of "Don't know."

Dmitri stood up, "Look, either you start looking for something in the next couple of days, or I'm gonna need to talk to Mom and Dad about you moving back there."

Nikolai shot up out of bed, eyes wild, "What?!"

"I don't want to! But I don't know what else to do! And neither does Anya. We talked about it before we left last night."

"Anya…" Nikolai muttered, looking downcast.

"Please don't disappoint us," Dmitri patted him on the shoulder before leaving, "And change out of those clothes. You'll wreck them!"

* * *

><p>By the time Anya got out of the shower, Meg had commandeered the kitchen and was making some kind of stew for lunch. "It's delicious I swear!" She insisted. After another thirty minutes neither sibling was arguing with her – it smelled incredible.<p>

Nikolai wandered out of his room wearing basketball shorts and an old t-shirt just in time for it to be served.

"Please move in with us. We never eat this well," Anya moaned, savoring the stew. Next to her, Nikolai was doing the exact opposite and wolfing it down as fast as possible.

"Hey! I'm a decent cook!" Dmitri insisted.

"You're a serviceable cook. There's a difference," Anya teased.

Meg took another bite of stew, "I'd like to try this serviceable cooking sometime."

"I make a mean _garbuzok_," Dmitri grinned.

"I make a better one," Nikolai insisted, choking down the rest of his stew.

"You haven't cooked it in so long Dmitri's might be better by now," Anya said.

"Okay then, I'll make it tonight!"

Dmitri and Anya both turned and stared at their brother, "Eh?"

"It's not that surprising!" Nikolai snapped. "I'll need to go grocery shopping though."

"I'm gonna go later. You can come with me," Anya said. She looked Nikolai up and down, "You'll need to change into something better than that though."

"Yeah, fine," Nikolai said, standing up and grabbing his bowl. "Get ready for it to knock your socks off!"

* * *

><p>When Anya and Nikolai left for the store, Dmitri and Meg were curled up on the couch watching something on television. About five minutes later Meg was straddling Dmitri and leaving kisses up his neck.<p>

Dmitri gasped, "You don't slow down do you?"

"What's the fun in that?" Meg mumbled, before pulling him up by the collar into a deep kiss.

Dmitri broke the kiss and groaned as Meg unzipped his fly.

"If you ask nicely I'll let you be on top this time," She winked, rubbing him through the silk of his boxers.

"I guess there would be a first time for everything," Dmitri quipped, sitting up and undoing her blouse.

Twenty minutes later, Meg, was brushing the hair out of her face, spawled out underneath him. "Damn. I should let you be on top more often."

"You do like being on top though," Dmitri grinned, kissing her cheek.

"That I do," she giggled. "Wanna go back to classic mode for round two?"

"Actually, I was hoping I could ask you something."

"Oh?" Meg asked, sitting up. "Something wrong?"

"No, it's just..." Dmitri hesitated. "I wondering if you wanted to... go away for the weekend with me? Somewhere nice. I saved up some money and-"

Meg smiled and kissed him. "That sounds fantastic! I was just thinking I need to get away from here for a bit."

"You did?"

"Yeah, I mean... my apartment isn't always the most relaxing place to be, what with the random redecorating and parties."

"Oh you wanted to relax? I had budgeted for something more strenuous."

Meg stared at him, "Wait. Do you mean..?"

"Oh yeah," Dmitri grinned, leaning in close to her ear and whispering. "Hockey game."

"You are the best boyfriend ever," Meg squealed, kissing him. "Say, why don't we take round two into the bathroom and break it in?"

Dmitri nodded and followed her like a grinning idiot, too wrapped up in the moment that it was the first time anyone referred to him as their boyfriend.

* * *

><p>In retrospect, Dmitri and Meg really should have taken their clothes with them into the bathroom, because their discussion of their trip, and other activities, lasted long enough that they were still engaging in intercourse when Anya and Nikolai returned from the store.<p>

"I'm starting dinner! Don't break anything!" Nikolai shouted through the door, and Dmitri almost smacked his head on the tub's faucet.

"So what's the plan?" Meg asked, lying back in the tub. "We need to get out of here sometime."

"We'll wait for Anya to go take her afternoon stress nap, and then I'll go out and get our clothes."

"What time does she usually do that?"

"It should kick in around..." Dmitri looked over at the electronic clock. "15 minutes from now?"

"Huh," Meg said, "I wonder what we could do to kill time until then."

"I can think of one thing," Dmitri grinned, leaning over and moving lower with each kiss down her stomach and abdomen. "Just relax."

By the time Dmitri snuck out of the bathroom, Meg had a smile practically glued to her face.

"Christ you guys are loud," Nikolai grunted, stirring something in a boiling pot. "I mean, good for you for getting laid and everything, but does it have to be so _frequent_ and _here_?"

"Trust me, hanging out with Amelia and Kamilė would've been more awkward. They were comparing notes on us," Dmitri snorted, pulling on his pants.

"Wait. Those two are friends now?" Nikolai shook his head in disbelief. "Anya's gonna blow a gasket when she finds out."

"Yeah, about that. Could you keep a lid on it just for a little while? She had a rough night last night and I wanna be gentle about it."

Nikolai mumbled an affirmative response, before adding, "But what notes would Kamilė have on me? All we had was that weird drunken attack in that alleyway."

"What?"

"Never mind," Nikolai waved dismissively. "It was dumb. And I shouldn't be ragging on you. The honeymoon period for you will be over soon enough."

"Honeymoon period?" Dmitri asked, gathering up the rest of the clothes strewn upon the floor.

"It's a brand new relationship. You guys are all lovey-dovey and can't keep your hands off each other. Once that's over, you'll start noticing the differences more and fighting about stupid stuff." Nikolai smirked and added, "Considering the honeymoon period you're having involves a bizarre amount of sex it'll probably get weird."

"Since when are you an expert on relationships?"

"I watch a lot of Netflix. Their catalog isn't as big as you think it is," Nikolai shrugged. He stirred the pot one more time and pulled out the ladle. "Taste this. I'm not sure if I need more seasoning or not."

Dmitri took a sip, the flavor warming his tongue. "Damn."

"I know. I'm good," Nikolai grinned, taking a sip himself.

* * *

><p>"That was great!" Anya exclaimed, finishing the last of her bowl.<p>

Nikolai sat at the end of the table beaming as Dmitri and Meg nodded in agreement. In retrospect it probably would've been better if they didn't have meals of stew and pumpkin soup back to back, but Dmitri was too comfortably full to care.

Before dinner started Meg had gotten a text message from Amelia that Kamilė had come back to the apartment for dinner – a fact that everyone went out of their way not to mention to Anya. The last thing she needed to hear was that her best friend and worst enemy were quite literally braiding each other's hair.

The only problem was that Meg needed to stop by her apartment if they were going to go out clubbing. Dmitri had hoped that the soup would be Anya's downfall but if anything she seemed more energized than she did before.

"The trick is to smuggle in your own booze. That's how they get you," Anya demonstrated to Meg, mixing vodka with what appeared to be juice. "It dilutes the taste but it's worth it for the savings."

Meg smiled kindly, "Anya I went to college. I already know all this."

"Yeah, but what you don't know are my patented techniques to get hot guys to notice you."

"Because you have so many guys who want you over at the apartment," Dmitri said in a deadpan voice. Nearby, Nikolai choked on a glass of water.

"It's only been a dry spell because I've been busy with work. Tonight I'm going wild," Anya grinned. "I'm hanging out with Marianne next week and I wanna have something good to bring to the table. Her life is hard to compete with."

"I know what you mean. That woman certainly set the right goals for herself," Meg nodded.

"I think you're doing pretty good though," Dmitri added, putting his arm around Meg.

"Fine. Let's go already," Nikolai interrupted. His cheerful mood had vanished and he was once again extremely sour.

"Yes, let's," Anya said, brushing past him and walking out the door with purpose.

* * *

><p>"You have to be quick okay," Dmitri said, watching Meg fish for her keys.<p>

"I know that!" She snapped, "I don't want tonight to be filled with drama. I just want to go have fun and dominate at air hockey."

"What makes you think there will be air hockey there?"

"It's a Canadian-themed club. Trust me, it has an air hockey table."

Before Meg could find her key, a very surprised looking Amelia opened the door. While she wasn't as glammed up as the night before, even Dmitri had to admit that she looked great.

"Oh hey! I thought you guys went ahead so we got ready by ourselves."

"Wait, what?" Meg blinked, still holding her house key out. "What are you talking about? You're coming?"

"And Kamilė's coming with you…" Dmitri laughed nervously, spotting the familiar face a few paces behind Amelia. "With us. But with you…"

"Yeah…" Amelia said, looking at him curiously. "You okay?"

"Yeah, he's fine!" Meg squeaked. "But you guys should probably go separately, in your car. I'm gonna take _ages_."

Amelia stared at her for a second, "Okay. We'll see you there I guess? Come on Kamilė."

Dmitri felt his body relax as Amelia and Kamilė began walking in the opposite direction of where Anya and Nikolai were. Last thing they needed was for one of them to-

"Hey Meg!"

_Shit_.

Dmitri whipped his head around to see a stunned looking Anya holding what appeared to be a compact in her left hand. Despite what she had just said, she seemed to be ignoring Meg entirely and was staring at the receding forms of Amelia and Kamilė.

"Anya-" Meg started.

"You forgot your compact. Thought you'd need it." She said, stretching her arm out, eyes still transfixed on the receding forms of her best friend and arch enemy chatting like old pals. Meg cautiously grabbed it from her.

"Anya, we're sorry we didn't tell you," Dmitri pleaded, "It was-"

"You _knew?!_" Anya hissed, turning to face him.

Dmitri instinctively took a step back. He hadn't seen Anya this furious in years, and had never had it directed toward him.

"I'm sorry," he repeated, "We thought they would get tired of each other after a couple of hours. We didn't want to make you upset."

"I'm upset because you didn't warn me!" She yelled. "I don't like being blindsided like this. I mean, god, Amelia of all people…"

"Hey!" Meg said, "She's not that bad. I mean, she's still my sister."

"Doesn't make her any less of a pretentious show off," Anya muttered.

"What the hell is your deal?" Meg yelled back, "I mean, I get that you don't like Amelia. She doesn't like you either. But what did she ever do to you? I mean, god, you're both such children about this."

"I don't have to justify myself to you! I'm going home," Anya said, turning around and walking away as fast as she could in heels.

"Anya! Damn it," Dmitri said, kicking the ground.

"Let her go, she needs time to cool off. Frankly so do I," Meg said.

"You didn't have to-"

"Didn't have to what?!" Meg snapped. "She may be your sister but Amelia is mine and that counts for something. I'm not the fun sex hockey girlfriend 24-7. I'm allowed to get angry! And you know just as well as I do that they're both being irrational so don't even," She pushed past him, and went inside, muttering a string of curse words under her breath.

Dmitri looked back over his shoulder helplessly at Anya before he followed Meg inside.

* * *

><p><em>In the dream that Dmitri couldn't seem to remember, the bride, her identity obscured by a veil, took her last few steps to the front of the church.<em>

_The faceless audience began filing out. Similarly, the priest seemed to disappear into thin air. Dmitri looked around desperately as the other groomsmen and bridesmaids started to leave._

_"Wait, why is everyone leaving?" He asked, rushing over to the receding group, "The bride hasn't even lifted her veil yet."_

_"That's because no one wants to watch," The last of the bridesmaids, the maid of honor, stopped and faced him. Her makeup and clothes were unfamiliar, and she stood much more confidently than Dmitri ever remembered seeing her, but the braid in her hair made her instantly recognizable._

_"Kamilė?"_

_She nodded, turning to the front of the church. By now, She and the couple were the only ones who remained inside the church with Dmitri. "Don't worry. I'm staying too. Our penance is the same."_

_"Penance?" Dmitri asked in a hushed tone, turning towards the couple as well._

_Nikolai lifted the veil, smiling brighter than Dmitri had ever seen him, and kissed their sister._

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's Note:<strong>__ Thanks for reading this far! Feedback is appreciated, even negative feedback!_


	7. Chapter VII

_**Author's Note:**__ Thank you to Icelilly for beta-ing this chapter!_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter VII<strong>

She lied.

Anya told herself she wouldn't let her foul mood spoil this lunch and she lied. To herself. What could be worse than that?

To her credit, Marianne seemed pretty content chatting away about her engagement, giggling occasionally like she was in on a fun secret that she couldn't tell Anya.

_Probably sanity_, Anya thought to herself. _She doesn't become a fucking demon that scares everyone off when she's angry._

And it was fear. Anya thought it was anger, but it was definitely fear that was making everyone avoid her. She knew this because when Dmitri came back to their apartment the day after their fight he avoided her. And when she finally crossed paths with him that night he flinched, as if preparing himself for another downpour of emotional rage.

The same emotional rage had been inflicted on Nikolai as soon as she got back in the car.

"What's wrong?" he had asked, lazily browsing his phone without looking up. Anya slammed the door and he looked up, startled. "Hey!"

"My problem is that I'm surrounded by idiots," Anya hissed, her voice dropping to a low whisper.

Nikolai blinked. "What are you talking about? Where's Dmitri and everyone else?"

Anya whipped her head around and Nikolai shrank back.

"Christ. What happened?"

"It's nothing. Not anymore," She said.

"It's clearly something-"

"Why don't you just focus on getting a job," She said. "It's not like you're doing anything useful anyway. All you do is drink and mess up my life with your weird crush and inability to deal with people."

Nikolai looked struck, more struck than times he had actually _been_ struck. But Anya couldn't bring herself to care at that point. She was just happy that the drive home had been a quiet one.

"Anya?"

"Huh?" Anya blinked. Marianne was waving her hand in front of her face.

"Are you okay? You seem distracted."

"Well," Anya hesitated, "I'm just unsure what to do. You see, my friend Kamilė's recently become friends with someone who I... dislike. I haven't spoken to her in the past couple of weeks and it's kind of awful."

"You're referring to Amelia I imagine?" Marianne smirked. Anya gasped and Marianne laughed, "Don't look so surprised. I've known Amelia and Meg most of my life. I'm well aware of how infuriating she can be. But I'm not sure I understand... is it that bad between you two?"

"I mean, it's not like we're going to plot each other's murders or anything," Anya mumbled, "But it's... frigid, to say the least."

"Ah, I think I see what this is," Marianne nodded. "We have a mutual friend who I sometimes find a bit aggravating - a self absorbed English prat - but ultimately I tolerate her because at the end of the day, she's a nuisance, and I value my friendship with them."

"Basically you're saying I should suck it up?"

"I'm not saying you need to become Amy's bestie or anything, but unless something bad happens, doesn't it seem worth it to meet them halfway?"

Anya crossed her arms, contemplating her words yet also mortified she'd revealed how big a hot mess she was. "You're right. Of course you're right. Thanks."

Marianne smiled, "I give good advice."

"Who is this British girl anyway? I haven't heard anything about her."

"Oh, I pulled some strings and got her company to transfer her to their London branch," Marianne sipped her coffee. "I talk a good game but being petty can be really fun."

The rest of their lunch went a lot more smoothly. The cook went all out and served food more delicious than anything Anya had in years, and the conversation turned to much more fun topics. It wasn't until she was getting ready to leave that things began to turn sour once more.

"Hey Marianne, I'm here for my shift. I-" Alice paused, staring at Anya. "What the-"

"I think you mean hello," Marianne said, a slight edge to her voice.

Alice nodded quietly, shooting Anya a frustrated look before brushing past them and into the kitchen.

"Oh god, will that never not be awkward," Anya groaned.

"Do you two have a history?"

"You could say that..." Anya mumbled.

Anya spent the next few minutes telling her about about Dmitri's exploits before he met Meg. It took considerably longer for Marianne to stop laughing.

"Oh my goodness, no wonder she's so cold," Marianne giggled. "And mozeltof to Meg."

"What's so funny?"

Both women turned around to see Jacques walk out through the kitchen doors. Anya immediately felt her face redden.

"Hey you," Marianne stood up and kissed him on the cheek. "Where have you been?"

"I was running some errands. It's great to see you Anya," he smiled. Anya nodded politely.

Jacques told Marianne in more detail what he had bought, before saying his goodbyes and going back into the kitchen.

"Pick your jaw up off the floor Anya," Marianne giggled.

"I wasn't- I mean-"

"Don't worry about it. I know I landed a fine looking man," Marianne grinned mischievously. "Besides, have you seen me? I'm a knockout!"

Anya laughed in spite of herself.

"Look honey, I know what you need and it's some good, old fashioned intercourse."

"Marianne!"

"Oh come on! There's gotta be some guy out there who'd be interested in tending to your needs."

An image of Nikolai lying on the couch in only his boxer shorts, a long-stemmed rose clamped between his teeth and a come hither look in his eye seemed to embed itself in her mind.

"Let's talk about something else," Anya laughed forcefully, shaking her head to try and cleanse her psyche.

* * *

><p>By the time Anya got home, she had already scripted an apology in her head. Of course, that was only useful if anyone was actually home.<p>

"Nikolai? Dmitri?" Anya called out. She was greeted with silence.

_Did Nikolai actually leave the apartment?_ Anya wondered, though before she could mull it over further, she heard the sound of a knock behind her.

"There you guys are! I was wondering-" Anya said, throwing the door open.

However it wasn't Dmitri or Nikolai or even Meg. It was Kamilė.

"Oh…" Anya said, standing there silently. She had hoped that talking to literally any of the others would help her figure out what to say to Kamilė. Clearly that wasn't going to happen.

Turns out she didn't really have to, because Kamilė started talking first.

"Look, I don't know what happened, but I know some of it's my fault," She said, making intense eye contact. "I should have told you I was hanging out with Amelia considering the history between you two. I shouldn't have blindsided you like that and expected everything to magically work out."

"I…" Anya began, before Kamilė cleared her throat.

"That being said, I can't believe you went nuclear like that!" She snapped. "I mean, god Anya. This feud is getting old."

"She's bad too…" Anya said, feeling herself get defensive.

"Oh, you think Amelia hasn't heard a variation of this?" Kamilė said, crossing her arms, still staring at her like she expected Anya to bolt away like a frightened deer. "Look, it's not just me, Dmitri and Meg both think you two need to find a way to be civil with each other. These trash-talking, passive-aggressive mind games are getting old."

"Funny, you never said anything before," Anya said.

"Yeah… well," Kamilė shifted uncomfortably, breaking eye contact. "I'm guilty of feeding the fire too. We all are. _Aren't we?_"

Kamilė directed the last part behind her. A moment later, a very sheepish looking Dmitri emerged followed by Meg, who looked like she was studying something interesting on the ceiling.

Anya sighed. Everything was coming up roses today, that was for sure. "There you are Dmitri, I was looking for you-"

"I don't know what she's talking about," Dmitri said, pointing his finger accusingly at Kamilė. "Personally I find your gung-ho attitude delightful, don't you honey?"

"So delightful," Meg said, still studying the ceiling.

Kamilė scowled at them. "Freakin' wimps."

"Look, I know I messed up," Anya said. "It's just… I don't like it when people play me for a fool. You should know that better than anyone." Anya allowed a slight edge to her voice to pierce through while looking at Dmitri, who appropriately flinched.

But… She said to herself, before taking a deep breath. "But I shouldn't have flown off the handle like that. I'm sorry. And I shouldn't have said all that stuff about Amelia."

"Oh, that's okay," Meg sighed, looking more relaxed. "Turns out she was just as pleasant that night too."

"What?" Anya said, turning to look at Kamilė.

"Remember, you were sorry for flying off the handle," She laughed nervously. "Um… Okay, look. Why don't we call a truce. Amelia's over at her apartment and we're all going to hang out tonight and, you know, address some stuff."

"She was the one who insisted we go to lunch after all these years. She's the one who's been trying to get into his pants," Anya said, pointing at Dmitri, who shrank back nervously. "Are you telling me that she's been trash talking me on top of everything else. I was content just going our separate ways and-"

"Look we know," Meg said. "When she came back that night, I got into it with her and she owned up to it... Okay, some of it. Neither of you look very good right now. All we're asking is that we try to find a way to get this to work now that you both are in each other's lives, for better or worse."

Anya must've been making a face, because Dmitri finally spoke up. "Look, could you try to meet us halfway Anya? The past two weeks have been a literal hell."

"You've spent most of that time with me," Meg said coolly.

"I meant at home," Dmitri said, hugging Meg, who continued to look annoyed.

"Look, relax this afternoon and we'll meet up at Amelia's around seven. That sound good?"

Anya knew she still looked unhappy, but she nodded nonetheless.

* * *

><p>"Do we have to do this?" Anya asked again, tugging at the collar of her sweater. The balmy weather of summer was finally dissolving into a cool autumn. Pretty soon there would be snow, and while she liked snow she hated it at the same time, because it meant everything was cold and the sun only existed to cast blinding light on white surfaces.<p>

It was pretty much the only thought that could've made her more annoyed than she already was.

"Don't worry, I'm sure it'll be fine," Dmitri said, knocking on the door. "It's too bad Nikolai has the night shift now otherwise he could've-"

"Wait, night shift?" Anya interrupted, dumbfounded.

Before Dmitri could explain, Meg opened the door.

"Hey you," Meg said, kissing Dmitri, "Amelia's in the living room Anya. You go on ahead."

"Yeah okay," Anya shrugged, while the two of them did their best to swallow each other's face.

Amelia was sprawled out on the couch, dressed in what looked like a horrifying mix between a nightgown and a snuggy. She looked up at the sound of Anya's entrance, and confusion quickly spread across her face.

"Um, Anya, what are you doing here?"

"What do you mean, what am I doing here? You invited me over here to 'patch things up' or something," Anya snapped.

Amelia stared at her blankly for a moment before realization swept across her face. "Fuck!"

She sprang up off the couch and ran out of the room and past Anya, who instinctively developed a defensive stance.

Blinking, Anya turned and looked down the hall at the entryway, where Amelia was feverishly pulling on the now-closed front door.

"Meg you magnificent bitch!" Amelia shouted, "I told you never to pull a stunt like this again! Let us out!"

"Not until you get along!" Anya heard Meg shout from the other side of the door, and she felt her stomach drop, like she had just been launched off the top of a roller-coaster.

"Wait, they locked us in here?!" Anya yelled, running over to the door to help Amelia. "What the hell is wrong with you guys?"

"Trial by fire Anya, sorry," Dmitri said.

Anya screamed at the door, doing her best to help Amelia pry it open.

"This is useless," Amelia whispered, nodding towards the back of the apartment. "I'll keep them distracted here, you go out through the back."

Anya nodded, silently turning and walking as fast as she could toward the kitchen while Amelia continued to yell at Meg and Dmitri.

For a moment, she thought she was home free, until she felt a similar resistance when she tried the back door.

"The hell?" Anya said, pushing up harder against it, but it didn't budge.

"Sorry Anya," Anya heard a weak voice mumble from the other side of the door.

"Kamilė you fucking planned this!" Anya yelled, throwing her body against the door. "How the hell are you holding this door closed?"

"I'm a lot stronger than you think!" She said incredulously, while someone else outside cleared their throat.

"And I'm here too," Jacques said. "Sorry Anya, nothing personal."

"Jacques?" Anya said, stunned. "Then that means…" She threw herself against the door again, her blood pressure rising. "Marianne what the hell?!"

"Sorry Anya," She heard the woman giggle, though her voice was fainter than the others. It was likely that she wasn't helping hold the door. "But I did say you guys needed to learn to get along."

"That's rich, considering you got some British girl you didn't like transferred out of the country."

"Wait, you got Alice transferred?" Jacques asked, clearly surprised.

"Oh, don't look at me like that. She loves London," Marianne said defensively.

"Look, until you guys come to some kind of truce, we're not gonna let you out of here," Kamilė insisted.

Anya grumbled to herself, halfheartedly knocking herself against the door. A few minutes later, a very angry Amelia came into the kitchen.

"Marianne what the hell?!" she yelled.

"Don't blame me," Marianne huffed. "Get with the Stockholm Syndrome already!"

"So you admit this is a hostage situation?" Amelia said, slamming her fists against the door.

The back-and-forth continued for a while longer until, defeated, they collapsed in the living room, Anya still glaring at the front door.

"It's just like them to pull something like this," Amelia groaned. "I mean, Meg is always putting on the performance of being the good 'sister' but she can be a real pain in the ass."

"Dmitri's no better," Anya said, a little more loudly than necessary. "He has this weird morality compass when he was the one who slept through half of our high school."

Anya heard a yelp from outside the front door.

"Oh god you have no idea. Meg talks about it in her sleep and apparently she's a huge size queen. Don't even get me started on her inability to get that zoo smell out of her hair." Amelia smirked, listening to the muffled shouting on the other side of the door.

"Speaking of zoos, you should see some of Kamilė's hookups. Girl can do so much better but I'm pretty sure slumming it does it for her if you know what I mean."

"_Anya_!" Kamilė shouted from outside.

Anya grinned, clearing her throat. "Since we're gonna be here for so long, I might as well tell you about this guy she dated after we graduated. He kept all these pillows around his house and drew faces on them-"

"This is not what you're supposed to be doing!" Kamilė shouted.

"Oh you should have seen the guy Meg dated before." Amelia grinned, "His sister was a huge stoner so she...

* * *

><p>It took an hour until the doors were opened. To their surprise, Jacques was the one who popped inside the living room.<p>

"You guys should probably go somewhere for a while... Marianne's keeping them distracted but they're really mad."

Sure enough, a very loud argument could be heard taking place outside.

"Why would they be mad? It's just a simple hostage situation between friends," Amelia deadpanned. "And I live here. I'm not going anywhere."

"Suit yourself," Jacques shrugged, collapsing on the sofa. "My arms are killing me."

Anya cleared her throat, "So, it's late so I better head home. I hope it's okay I leave Dmitri stranded?"

"Eh, it's fine," Amelia frowned. "If he throws a fit Meg can drive him home or I can call the police and tell them about our little kidnapping adventure."

"Please don't," Jacques sighed. "This plan was dumb but they did mean well."

"Well, we existed in the same space for an hour and didn't kill each other. That's progress!" Anya pointed out.

"That's because we trashed talked everyone else instead of each other... it's fun to shake things up every once in a while," Amelia said, standing up off the floor. "I'll show you out. Marianne can talk but she's not very good at distractions."

"Cool, see you guys later!" Jacques yawned, sprawling out on more of the couch.

"No dirty shoes on my furniture," Amelia hissed, and Jacques immediately rolled off the couch.

Amelia snickered, before turning to Anya and leading her to the front door. Dmitri and Meg were nowhere to be seen, but their voices could be heard arguing with Marianne from the other side of the apartment complex.

"It's days like these I like living on the ground floor," Amelia sighed.

"Um... wait. Couldn't we have climbed out one of the windows then?"

Amelia held up a finger as if to explain, then seemed to deflate. "Oh. Crap you're right. I guess we're all a bunch of idiots tonight."

"Well, it wasn't so bad. I'm pretty sure we made Dmitri cry," Anya winced. "Oh I'm gonna pay for that later."

"You should probably get going unless you wanna pay for it now," Amelia said. Sure enough, the argument out back seemed to be dying down.

"Well, it's been an experience," Anya saluted, before making a mad dash across the parking lot to her car.

* * *

><p>Ultimately, Dmitri was more tired than angry when he finally made his way home, and almost immediately passed out on the couch. He managed to get a 'you are such a fucking pain' jibe in first though.<p>

_Their plan worked a little I guess_, Anya thought to herself, leaning against the kitchen counter and staring at her brother's unconscious form. _I mean, we did find common ground. It wasn't what they had in mind but..._

At that moment her phone went off. It was a text from Kamilė.

_'For the record this was Dmitri and Meg's plan. I was simply an unwitting accomplice.'_

"Someone got threatened with the police," Anya said to herself, extremely amused. She would need to contact Amelia tomorrow just to make sure the threats were indeed empty.

_I wonder where Nikolai is? I haven't seen him all day, and Dmitri mentioned something about a job..._ Anya frowned. _Not like I can ask Dmitri about it now though. He fell asleep at 9:30 for Christ's sake._

Anya had half a mind to wait up and ask Nikolai himself, but she had no idea when he'd be back and, frankly, she's had a long day. She quietly went into her room and changed for bed.

She lay down and stared up at the ceiling. _What am I even doing though? I just had a major life crisis over an old college rivalry. Shouldn't I be more concerned with career stuff?_ She sighed and rolled over. _Well, I don't have to figure that out today. All I have to do is sleep._

_Sleep._

Just thinking the word seemed to lull her into unconsciousness.

Of course, that meant her subconscious took a turn in the driver's seat, and Anya's repressed enough stuff to know that nothing good could ever come of it.

That being said, her dream was a lot more straight-forward than they normally were.

"Oh my god! Just pick one!"

Amelia was shouting at her. They were both sprawled on the floor, wearing long, flowing dresses and surrounded by what looked like piles of playing cards with different pictures on them.

"It's not that hard. Look!" Amelia picked up a card. It had a picture of a corner office at a very successful-looking business. "Now you!"

"I- um…" Anya looked around in a panic. The cards near her were all flipped over so she couldn't see what was on them. And whenever she tried to move closer to where Amelia was, it felt like Gravity was weighing down on her harder.

Floundering, she grabbed a handful of cards and then immediately felt the floor disappear from underneath her, but she wasn't falling. It was like she was floating on air.

"Which card do you pick?" Amelia said, though Anya couldn't see her physically anymore.

"I- I don't know," Anya said, looking at the cards in her hand. There were four of them.

The first had an elaborate drawing of the same office that Amelia had chosen, only this one had a more obvious sunset in the background through the windows. _Was that a beach? The ocean?_ As if in the office itself, she leaned in close to the window. _Yes, it's the ocean!_

Tearing herself away from the second card, she saw her apartment. Dmitri was standing at the kitchen counter and Nikolai was lying on the couch. It all looked the same as ever, to the point where just looking at it made her feel bored.

The third card had another picture of her apartment on it, but it was empty. No, all her stuff was still there but it looked… old. Like it had been sitting there for years and sustained sun damage. She didn't like looking at this card either.

The fourth card was not what she expected. It was a picture of Nikolai in that nice suit Dmitri had gotten him, but he was lying on top of his bed wearing it, fast asleep. His shirt was untucked and his tie was askew, revealing several buttons that were seemingly skipped over. As a result, it was almost like it was draped over his chest like some calendar pin-up.

"I don't understand," Anya said aloud. Amelia didn't answer, instead she was met with silence.

She looked over the cards again, and without realizing it she dropped the second card and it fluttered down into the darkness. Watching it fall, she slowly felt herself consumed with an impending sense of dread.

"No. I don't… I don't want to choose," She shouted into the void. "I don't know if I can choose!"

"You don't have to. At least right now."

Anya twisted her body around, coming face to face with Marianne, wearing the same fluttering dress she was.

"What do you mean?" Anya asked.

"Oh honey, it just means that you know there's a choice to be made. Though some choices aren't an option anymore," Marianne glanced down to where the second card had fallen. "Shame. That choice was a decent one, if a bit boring and easy."

"But how…when…which?"

"Oh, you'll know," Marianne said, smirking and resting her chin in her hand. "You just need to think about what it is you truly want, and who you want to share it all with."

Anya looked down helplessly into the dark depths below her, as if it would spit the easy answer back out. Instead, it was like gravity finally kicked in, and she felt herself start to fall.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's Note:<strong>__ Thanks for reading this far. Feedback is appreciated!_


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